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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22548034">La Vie en Rose (Life in Pink)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sibir/pseuds/Sibir'>Sibir</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword &amp; Shield | Pokemon Sword &amp; Shield Versions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Gen, Opal and Bede bond, Opal x OC, Time Travel, Young!Opal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:41:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>49,382</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22548034</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sibir/pseuds/Sibir</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bede doesn't get why that loony old bat Opal wants him to be the next Fairy type Gym Leader. To help him understand, Opal has Celebi take Bede back to the time of her youth. [Rated T for character deaths and language]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Beet | Bede &amp; Poplar | Opal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>77</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Fairy Tale</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Opal is my favorite Sword/Shield character, despite Fairy types being my least favorite type, ironically enough. (My favorite types are Poison, Dark, Dragon, and Water.) I love that Opal's a sassy troll and holds her own among the younger Gym Leaders. I loved her even more after seeing concept art of her younger self. And of course, I love that she basically adopted Bede. Though this fic will explore Opal's life, it's all from Bede's perspective.</p><p>This started out as a pair of headcanon posts I made on Tumblr, on my idea of why Opal adopted Bede. A bunch of people seemed to like that idea, so I want to explore it properly here. Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Bede thought about making a break from Opal, that loony old bat. Nothing could stop him. She wasn't gripping and pulling him along by the arm, like a parent dragging an upset child through the grocery store. In fact, he fought a hard battle with impatience to match her stride. The oldest Gym Leader in Galar walked at the pace of a Chewtle on a cold day. It wasn't like she could chase him down if he took off. Her heart would probably give out first if she tried.</p><p>Before they had set off from the sprawling castle-city of Hammerlocke, Opal had insisted on walking, turning down chances to take the train and the Flying Taxi. The train made sense, since there were no railways leading through the dense Glimwood Tangle and into Ballonlea. But not taking the Flying Taxi perplexed Bede.</p><p>"We'll get there much faster if we take a taxi," he told her.</p><p>"I'm not hopping on that bloody death trap," she replied with a snort.</p><p>"So you want to get blisters on your feet instead?"</p><p>"I very much prefer that to crashing and dying."</p><p>Bede rolled his eyes. "We won't crash and die. Those taxis are very safe."</p><p>"Rubbish. My boy, you have no idea."</p><p>Bede gawked at her. More like <em>she</em> didn't have any idea. There had never been reports of Flying Taxi accidents on the telly. Not that Bede expected an ancient fossil like Opal to keep up with news on the telly, anyway. Did she even <em>own</em> a telly?</p><p>Opal wouldn't budge on her decision, so they ended up walking all the way from Hammerlocke to Ballonlea. They had walked side by side, making no physical contact at all, yet what Bede felt between them was the alluring, arresting air of her authority and of course, her very strange, out-of-the-blue offer.</p><p>He wasn't a Gym Challenger anymore, so could Opal really pick him to be the next Gym Leader? Was that allowed? Opal seemed like the kind of woman to turn her big nose up at the rules and do whatever the bloody hell she wanted, anyway.</p><p>She had declared that he had the "right amount of pink." What did that mean? That was the first question he popped just after she had swooped in on him at Hammerlocke, but she refused to tell him, only that "pink isn't a color easily explained." Bollocks, you couldn't explain color. Blue is blue. Green is green. Red is red. And so on. Bede couldn't make heads or tails out of this lady clearly off her rocker.</p><p>Chairman Rose had disqualified Bede from the Gym Challenge at Stow-on-Side, so Bede had never reached Ballonlea to challenge the Fairy-type Gym. Though he tried to keep his face impassive, his first visit to the town enchanted him.</p><p>A spectrum of colors from glowing mushrooms abound under the shade of towering trees. Some mushrooms were so big that they loomed over the cottages. Bede didn't know that they could get that tall. Burbles of a brook winding through the leafy floor filled his ears. From their perches on the Pokemon Center, a pair of Hattrem tittered at Opal and Bede. Farther away, Chinchou bobbed their angler lights overhead. A little girl sitting on a large boulder played with two bobbing Inkays, and as Opal and Bede climbed the stairs, she waved at them.</p><p>"Hello, Ms. Opal. Welcome, Trainer."</p><p>Opal smiled at the girl and gestured to her young traveling companion. "This is Bede. He's going to be the town's next Gym Leader."</p><p>The girl's eyes lit up and she fidgeted in her spot on the boulder. "Oh, that's so exciting! This will be the talk of the town for sure. Good luck, Bede."</p><p>"Er, thanks," he stammered, then as they walked away, he muttered to Opal, "You have an awful lot of confidence to say that."</p><p>"I am rarely wrong in the choices I make," she replied. An impish glance peeked from the brim of her hat. "Don't prove me wrong, child."</p><p>Though she had a jovial tone, his stomach twisted in nervousness as if she had said it ominously. Why was he nervous? Why did he care? He didn't really want to be a Gym Leader. He hoped to just glean whatever information Opal had on the Wishing Stars, then be on his way. If there was a second chance to redeem himself in the Chairman's eyes, then he would seize that chance by the throat.</p><p>Opal led him down a winding path away from the Gym. Bede frowned. "Wait, where are we going?"</p><p>She quirked a white eyebrow at him. "You're not living at the Gym. Don't you want to see where you'll be living?"</p><p>Bede nearly stopped in his tracks. She was taking him to her house. It looked like the other cottages in town, timber-framed and dotted with cascading plants. A wooden armbench occupied the tiny front yard. A door flap took up a third of the whole door.</p><p>Suddenly a Mightyena bounded through the door flap with ferocious barks. Bede couldn't help jumping back in alarm. An Obstagoon opened up the wooden door to occupy almost the entire threshold and crossed its arms. It leered at Bede with bared fangs and through red eyes narrowed in suspicion.</p><p>Opal waved a placating hand at the pair of Dark type Pokemon. "Oh, hush now, my dears. The boy's all right. He's with me."</p><p>Bede's hand flitted to the Poke balls on his belt, not to send them out, but to protect them. He had a team of Psychic types, after all. "What are they doing here? Aren't you a Fairy type Trainer, Ms. Opal?" He hated how his voice got high and cracked when he gets scared.</p><p>Opal patted Obstagoon's arm with one hand, then ruffled Mightyena's mane with the other. "These are my husband's Pokemon. Descendants of them, anyway. They keep good company. Sometimes good protection." At her touch, the two Pokemon relaxed and looked to her with undisguised affection.</p><p>Bede tried to relax, too. "You have a husband?"</p><p>"Had."</p><p>"Oh, so he's—"</p><p>"Not around." She gestured to another path with the tip of her umbrella. "If you want to meet him, take the trail to the Ballonlea Cemetery."</p><p>Bede rubbed the back of his head. What should he say? "Er, I'm sorry."</p><p>Opal gave him a toothy grin. "No need to be. He left me ages ago. Now come inside and have some tea."</p><p>"Yes, ma'am." Bede stepped inside the house after her, followed closely behind by the vigilant Mightyena and Obstagoon. He was not surprised in the least to find the interior painted in cheerful pastel colors, shades of purple, pink, and light blue. He felt like walking into a child's dollhouse. Every piece of furniture—the sofa, the dining table, the armchair, the nightstand—looked like it was made for one. Excluding the company of Pokemon, clearly Opal had been living alone for a long time.</p><p>As Opal went straight to brewing tea in the kitchen, her following remark confirmed his suspicions. "It's been a while since I've had visitors in here. Mostly because this place has been a righteous mess."</p><p>"I...I can see that," Stacks of papers, discs, and tapes were piled halfway to the ceiling, on the verge of toppling over if Bede carelessly bumped an elbow or his hip against them.</p><p>Opal set two steaming teacups on the table, then turned to pull a book from the nearby shelf. The thick weight of it bent Opal over and nearly made her drop it, but she managed to heave it over the table and place it with a solid thump before Bede.</p><p>"Here, a crash course on the care and training of Fairy type Pokemon. Written by my own mum."</p><p>Bede peered at the cover. "By Ruby Roy," it said. He looked up at her with a frown. "You want me to read all of it, Ms. Opal?"</p><p>"From front to back until you have it memorized," she said firmly. "Mum made me do that, so I'm passing down the same regimen."</p><p>Bede bit back a groan. He wasn't one to sit still and hunched over a book for a long time. As he sipped at his tea, he found her unblinking gaze of intense scrutiny on him unnerving, so he tried to avoid staring back at her by leafing through the Fairy Pokemon training manual.</p><p>The pages were Butterfree wing-thin, aged from lengthy ownership but evidently cared for since there were no holes or stains. Bede kept the teacup a fair distance from the book. Somehow he didn't want to risk pissing off an old lady like Opal.</p><p>"I notice that you favor Psychic types," She remarked as she sipped from her own teacup. "The jump from using Psychic to Fairy types isn't a terribly big one. I know many Pokemon that are Psychic-Fairy, like Gardevoir, Hatterene, and Galarian Rapidash. You would do well to start using them."</p><p>"I already have a Galarian Ponyta and a Hattrem," Bede said.</p><p>"Splendid. You'll still have to make some switches to your team, though. Go for a few runs through Glimwood Tangle to catch and train your new Pokemon. But first, before any battles, hit the books." She seemed to notice his dismay, and the corners of her puckered lips twitched upward, though not apologetically. "I'm an old-fashioned gal."</p><p>Opal had Bede read through one chapter for the day, then asked him to help her tidy up the house. "We'll need to get the clutter cleared so you can have your own space," she said. "I only have one bedroom, so you'll have to make do with the sofa."</p><p>Bede shrugged. "That's fine. I'm used to sleeping in chairs."</p><p>She thrust a feather duster into his hands. "You're a tall boy for your age," she remarked as she looked him up and down. "You can dust the shelves that have been out of my reach since my back got bad." She grinned. "How handy."</p><p>Bede resisted heaving a sigh, otherwise he'd get dust up his nose. He pulled up the sleeves of his pink oversized coat and got to work. The stacks of papers, discs, and tapes turned out to be years worth of audition material, records of <em>thousands</em> of candidates Opal had been considering to be her successor. She had kept them around for reference, or in case she had to contact anyone she changed her mind about. Now that Bede was chosen, she had no more use for them. Her Mawile proved to be a big help in shredding up the paper and chomping the discs and tapes into pieces in its big jaws. Bede noticed that Opal kept her Pokemon team, along with Mightyena and Obstagoon, out of their Poke balls while she was at home. Weezing floated and puffed in content around the front yard, while Togekiss nestled in the sofa, and Alcremie, due to its creamy body and high-maintenance care, was kept away from the furniture and could be in the kitchen where messes were more tolerable.</p><p>"I use the Poke balls only during battles," Opal said. "Just for show, like a stage prop. This may boggle your young mind, but back in the day, I grew up in a time before Poke balls were invented."</p><p>Bede paused in collecting scrap from Mawile to stare at her in disbelief. "No Poke balls at all? How did that work?"</p><p>"Oh, we simply kept our Pokemon around. Sometimes people kept them on leashes, though I'd rather not do that to my own. Imagine having a full party of six Pokemon and each went its own way!"</p><p>"That's crazy," Bede agreed. Weren't Poke balls invented fifty years ago? The remark slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself. "Wow, you really have been around forever." She squinted at him and he quickly added, "Forever sixteen, I mean."</p><p>She leaned back in her armchair and giggled. "That's the correct answer."</p><p>Bede resumed his chores with relief. That peppy little brother of the Champion's annoyed him to no end, but he had Hop to thank for the warning: "When the Gym Leader Opal asks you how old she is, whatever you do, don't ever say that she's really bloody old!"</p><p>Once Bede threw out the clutter, Opal's house became much more manageable to navigate through. Bede had to fetch his own blankets from the attic himself, since Opal was no longer in good shape to climb up and down the ladder. His feet hung over the edge of the sofa whenever he stretched out to sleep on it. At first he was embarrassed when Opal made him borrow her purple fuzzy slippers, but he got over it because they kept him warm at night.</p><p>Bede learned over the next few days that Opal followed a rigid routine. At seven in the morning, she got up to have scones or oatmeal with a cup of hot tea. At eight, she went for a walk around town with Mightyena. Because the trees gave protection from the rising sun and kept the place cool and fresh, Ballonlea was the perfect place for a morning walk. Those who didn't know Opal well, like visitors and foreigners, would be surprised to see her, a Fairy type specialist, strolling through town with a Dark type Pokemon. The locals didn't bat an eye at this. If Opal wasn't seen with Mightyena on the trails around eight, that was worrying. By around eleven, she returned home to break for an early lunch of salad sandwiches prepared by Obstagoon. In the afternoon, she would take a nap, go outside to smoke a pipe on the armbench, or read the local newspaper Mightyena would fetch for her. Otherwise, on days that the Ballonlea Theatre was preparing a play, Opal would be over there from afternoon to late evening to manage the stage and cast.</p><p>Her current project, however, was Bede. So she stayed at home to make sure that he got situated, and kept the Gym closed to challenges in the mean time. While training in Glimwood Tangle, he evolved his Ponyta into Rapidash, his Hattrem into Hatterene, and acquired a Ralts. As for his fourth Pokemon, Opal gave him her Mawile.</p><p>"Though I haven't handed the title over to you officially, I still consider myself retired," she told him. "My battling days are over. You and Mawile seem to take a liking to each other well enough. She's yours now."</p><p>Mawile chirped happily at Bede's side. "Y-You don't have to do that," he stammered. "I can go catch another Pokemon..."</p><p>Opal waved a dainty hand. "Why go through that trouble when I can simply give you one? Like I said, I'm done battling. But not Mawile. You've seen how she has been chewing away at that audition scrap. She's still itching for battle. She's better off with you, my boy."</p><p>Bede had no choice but to reluctantly accept Mawile as a gift. This wasn't supposed to happen. He only trained in Glimwood Tangle to get stronger, and lived with Opal to cozy up with her so she could spill whatever she knew about Wishing Stars. Now he'd feel like scum if he hightailed out of Ballonlea with her Mawile in tow. And something about leaving an old lady alone again stirred up guilt he didn't expect. Besides, he didn't even have time to stop and ask about the Wishing Stars. Opal kept him busy.</p><p>It took Bede several days living with Opal and cleaning her house to realize that she had no photos whatsoever. No photos hanging on the walls, or sitting around on stands. Any hints of a past and a family were nonexistent. That baffled him, but he remembered the brief mention of her husband earlier, and he hesitated on bringing that up again with her.</p><p>Bede was getting used to the temperature in the cottage. He didn't need the extra blankets, so one day, while Opal went for her morning walk with Mightyena, he climbed up the attic to stow them away. But he forgot which chest held the blankets. He batted away cobwebs as he rummaged through the many boxes and chests that littered the floor of the attic. In his search for the right place, he fumbled in the dim light and bumped into a cabinet. Something flat and hard toppled off to fall straight on his head. He stumbled back and swore, clutching his throbbing scalp. A large oval portrait clattered to his feet face down. Still rubbing his head, he turned the portrait face up with his other hand.</p><p>Bede blinked in surprise. It was a woman, a young and beautiful one. Short dark curls framed her face. She wore a white blouse with a large frilly collar about her neck. She seemed to exude a cheeky, almost flirty air, with a hand propped on her hip and a wide grin as her gaze was directed just off to her left, probably at the artist who did the portrait.</p><p>"Who's this?" Bede muttered.</p><p>A relative of Opal's? A daughter, or a granddaughter? Or could that be Opal herself? Curiosity overwhelmed him and made him put aside his initial quest for the chest of blankets. He had a new quest. He opened up lids and dug into the confines of whatever he opened, hoping to scrounge up more hints of the old woman's past. He didn't know how much time passed. The attic had no windows. Bede got pulled into his new quest like an Electric type Pokemon drawn to a magnet.</p><p>After some effort to open up trunks at the deepest part of the attic, he managed to find stacks of photos with the same young woman. This time she posed with other people, mostly with an older, bearded, yet handsome gentleman and a boy with the same dark, curly hair that she had. In almost every photo, the man and boy had an arm around her. The young woman smiled widely, radiantly, through the sepia-toned dimness of old pictures. None of the photos were compiled into albums, for some reason. Bede spread them evenly and carefully on the attic floor, contemplating over his discovery.</p><p>"Bede?"</p><p>Hearing his name made him jump. Opal was home? He hadn't heard the door swing shut. How long had she been inside?</p><p>"Where are you, boy?"</p><p>Bede scrambled to gather the photos back into stacks. There were a lot of them. He wasn't fast enough to gather them all. Heavy stamps up the ladder made him freeze and whirl around. Obstagoon had climbed up the attic carrying Opal in its strong arms.</p><p>"Bede, thank goodness you're all right," she cried out in relief. "You didn't answer when I came home, so I thought something terrible had happened to you, and I—What are you doing with those?"</p><p>Her question cut through the air and made Bede cringe.</p><p>"Bede, where did you find the pictures?"</p><p>Opal's voice had always been soft and thin. The uncharacteristic sharpness to it now startled him.</p><p>"I-I was just coming up here to put back the blankets," he stuttered. "I-I found these by accident."</p><p>Opal tapped on Obstagoon's arm so the Pokemon could gently set her down. She closed the distance between herself and Bede with the same unusual quickness back at Hammerlocke, and snatched the photos from his hands. "I forgot where I had these. Now I remember where I've put them away, and I did that so I could forget."</p><p>Bede had never seen Opal so upset, and that terrified him. "I'm sorry," he blurted out. "I'm really, really sorry, Ms. Opal."</p><p>Not only did she look upset, she looked like she was in pain. A few photos slipped from her grasp and back onto the floor. Opal looked down at them, then her eyes scrunched shut and her lips drew into a thin, hard line.</p><p>Obstagoon let out a growl of concern and reached out with both paws to steady her. Bede tried to approach her, but the Pokemon bared its fangs at him. For a split second of dread, Bede wondered if she was having a heart attack. At her advanced age, that guess wasn't unreasonable.</p><p>Opal sucked in a long, shuddering breath, then let it out in a gusty sigh as she looked up back at Bede.</p><p>"You want to know, don't you?" She said softly, the angry light out of her eyes now. "I can hear you asking that question even if you're not asking it out loud." She beckoned at Bede to come closer, and pointed at the topmost picture of the stack in her hands. "That woman here...that's me."</p><p>"That's you?" Bede exclaimed.</p><p>She nodded. "That man is Roger, my husband. And that boy is Jasper, my son."</p><p>Bede's head spun from the weight of the revelation. He noticed that there were no pictures of Jasper beyond the time he was a boy. No pictures of Jasper in his teens, or older. "What happened?" He whispered. He feared that she would snap at him again.</p><p>Instead her shoulders sagged. "Where do I start? There's so much to tell." She buried her face into the crook of her thin arm to cough into it. "Blimey, this attic is so dusty. I'd much rather carry on the conversation over tea and better air. Bring the pictures down."</p><p>Bede blinked at her in surprise. "I thought you didn't want to see them, Ms. Opal."</p><p>"I didn't want to see them for almost sixty years," she murmured. "Times have changed. Now you are going to be the next Gym Leader." She rested a withered hand over Bede's. "Not only that, but you are practically under my care, like family. And since you're like family, I owe you my story, because soon it will be yours."</p><p>Opal, with Obstagoon's help down the attic, left him with that. Finally, Bede shook out of his stupor to gather up the photos of Opal and her family. For the first time in many, many years, he brought them downstairs.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>On Mightyena and Obstagoon being descendants of Pokemon belonging to Opal's late husband: There's no canon on Pokemon lifespans, so I thought that relying on lifespans of real-life animals would suffice. At least, for the Pokemon whose designs are inspired by real-life animals. I used the average lifespans of dogs and badgers for Mightyena and Obstagoon. 70 years seems like too long for the original Mightyena and Obstagoon to stick with Opal. Same goes for her own Pokemon.</p><p>Musical inspiration for this chapter was "Concerning Hobbits" from The Lord of the Rings.</p><p>For voices, I imagine Bede to sound like Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy in the 1st and 2nd Harry Potter movies, and old Opal sounds like Maggie Smith as Lady Violet from Downton Abbey.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Meeting Celebi</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As Bede carried the photos downstairs, a single burning question pervaded his thoughts: how did Opal’s nose get so long? Did she tell too many lies? Did she look at her feet too much and gravity pulled her nose down? But he thought it better to keep his mouth shut about that.</p><p>Once at the kitchen, Opal brewed tea while Obstagoon made salad sandwiches for lunch. Exactly what kind of salad sandwiches changed with each day. Today was egg salad. Opal’s hands were too frail and shaky to handle a knife, so she left that task to Obstagoon.</p><p>She had her back to Bede while she prepared the tea, but as she turned to give him his teacup, she said, “I’m sorry for getting upset with you. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”</p><p>“I wasn’t scared,” he quickly insisted. “It’s my fault, anyway. I shouldn’t have poked around where I shouldn’t be.” He ventured a question. “Why did you want to forget those photos?”</p><p>She settled into her chair with a shuddering sigh. “When you get to be as old as I am, Bede, you’ll learn that revisiting distant and dusty memories of people you’ve outlived can really hurt. If I was going to pick someone to inherit my Gym Leader mantle, I had to look to the future, not the past. I didn’t want to lose my focus, and I didn’t want to feel the pain. So I locked those memories away, and enough years passed so I couldn’t get up that attic and remember where I last left them.”</p><p></p><div>
  <p>Bede didn’t know what to say to that. What could he possibly say to offer comfort or a solution? He set the photos over the dining table, muttering thanks to Obstagoon as the Pokemon offered him a slice of sandwich on a plate. He took that as a forgiving gesture from Obstagoon for upsetting Opal earlier. Typical of women her age, Opal avoided foods that would be hard on her teeth and gums, so it had been a while since Bede chewed on something like crackers and candy. Not that he complained. Obstagoon knew how to make good sandwiches.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“But now you don’t want to put away those photos anymore because of me,” Bede said.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal smiled at him. “You’re the chosen one. I’ve completed the hardest part of my task. Now that I can see the future, a future with you in it, I can afford to look back at the past without it hurting so much.” The old woman gazed down at the photos and took a long, thoughtful sip of her tea. “My, it’s been a long time since I’ve looked back at my better days.” She ran a hand through her snow-white hair. “This used to be so dark.” Then she tapped the tip of her long nose. “And this...” She glanced up at Bede with a twinkle in her eyes. “You’re probably wondering how this turned into a broomstick on my face.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He merely hid his smirk behind the teacup in reply.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal tapped at her nose again. “Runs in the family, unfortunately. Got it from my dear old mum. Hers came in even earlier than mine. Ah, speaking of Mum, there she is. My last photo with her.” She pointed with a long painted nail at the two women standing in front of the Ballonlea Gym. Next to a young Opal—who Bede guessed to be in her late teens—was a woman with wild, dark hair down to the middle of her back, with wide eyes that seemed perplexed and distant before the camera. While Opal smiled for the picture and was well-dressed in a stylish blouse and skirt, her mother had a tight-lipped frown and wore a shawl frayed at the edges. “She was quite the character, my mum. Even more kooky than me, if you could believe it.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Hard to believe,” Bede admitted.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal chuckled at that, then she pointed at another photo. “Mightyena, Obstagoon, take a look. Those Pokemon next to my Roger, they are your great-great-great...great grandfathers.” She had to think and count on her fingers to say that. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Obstagoon peered over Opal’s shoulder, while Mightyena, closer to the ground, had to prop both front paws on the table to look over the table edge. All three smiled for the photo, with Mightyena sitting on one side and Obstagoon standing at the other. Roger had one hand over Mightyena’s head and the other on Obstagoon’s shoulder. The present-day pair of Dark type Pokemon stared down at the photo, pleased and intrigued to see their ancestors for the first time.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You take after them in every way, if I do say so myself,” Opal remarked. She pulled out another photo and addressed Bede this time. “There’s me on my first day as Gym Leader.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede knew from the League Card that Opal must have eighteen by that time. Framed by the photo, inside the Gym stadium, an eighteen year-old Opal posed with straight-backed pride. From her hands on her hips to the smirk on her face, she radiated confidence. Alongside her were Weezing, Togekiss, Mawile, and Alcremie: the same team of Pokemon she used right up to her retirement. Same kinds of Pokemon, to be exact, but not the very same that had been with her seventy years ago. Those original Pokemon were long gone. Bede wondered how Gym battles were fought back then. Not for the first time since staying with Opal, he was reminded of how long she had been around, roughly five times longer than he’d been alive, and the fact never ceased to amaze him.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal picked up the photo that was on the verge of tipping over the tabletop. “Oh, here’s my old man, Sir Lionel Roy. And that’s me with my brothers.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The family posed before a mansion this time, clearly not in Ballonlea. Opal was a little girl—Bede guessed before ten years old—and she cradled a Togepi egg in her arms. Standing rigidly beside her in suits were two boys, one nearly identical to Opal in height and hairstyle while the other was shorter and younger. The severe-looking man standing over them, their father, had a bristling mustache obscuring the top lip and a tophat tucked in one arm. The male Pyroar sitting beside him looked just as stern. The only one smiling in that solemn, formal family portrait was a Yamper at the feet of the older boy.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“That boy is my twin, Randall. The other one is Kestrel.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Your family looks loaded,” Bede remarked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Hardly anyone knows that these days,” she replied modestly. “I may have been born in Wynwall, but I spent most of my life here in Ballonlea.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Wynwall?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Don’t you know your Galar history, my boy? Where do you think that Chairman Rose got the name for the city he built? The land he settled on for his city was called Wynwall for ages.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>At her hint of exasperation, Bede scowled and stuck out his bottom lip. “I skipped lessons at the orphanage. I had crummy teachers who hit the back of your hand with a ruler and put you in timeout with a dunce hat on your head.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“In that case, my dear, I don’t blame you for skipping them.” Opal patted his hand with sympathy, then resumed her grip on the teacup to drink the last of her tea. “Anyways, that’s my family. The Roy family.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede scanned through the many photos Opal hadn’t mentioned and discussed. Pictures of her with Jasper: exhausted yet beaming as she held her newborn son for the first time, reading a book to him on his bed, caught in mid-laughter when he put a theatrical mask over his face the wrong way. Pictures of her with Roger: posing backstage in period costumes, swept up in the passionate wind of singing a duet on stage, dressed in their best and in each other’s embrace on their wedding day. Even through the sepia tone of old photos, a distant past, Bede could really feel the vibrant color of Opal’s spirit jumping out at him. He took in the portrayals of important people who once populated Opal’s life, then looked up to find a pitiful and lonely sight as she sat alone across from him. “What happened to them?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She turned wistful eyes to the window. “All sorts of things. I could talk your ear off all day long and my rambling will put you to sleep better than a Pokemon could use Hypnosis, or I could invite someone who will do a much better job of showing you than I ever could.” Opal lowered her teacup to level a serious gaze at him. “Bede, my boy, there’s someone special I want you to meet. But first, we have to wait for the morning of spring equinox, and I have to prepare a special treat for that special someone.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede scrunched up his brow in confusion. “That’s oddly specific.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Indeed. Did I already mention that our visitor’s quite special?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“So who’s coming?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>But she wouldn’t tell him. Spring equinox was a week away, so Bede spent that week passing the time with reading Ruby’s book, training in Glimwood Tangle, keeping Opal’s house clean, and occasionally bugging her with the same question. Each time she would not answer, much to his dismay.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You should be focusing on your studies,” she would tell him with a wagging finger. “If you don’t study, you’ll fail my quizzes.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>That lady just loved asking questions. She could come up with new ones every day without effort, and Bede had to be ready for any tricky ones she would give. She wanted him to know Fairy type Pokemon inside and out, just like she had.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Late at night before spring equinox, well past his bedtime, Bede watched Opal make a cheri berry pie that made his mouth water. But it looked too small of a serving even for him. Was Opal talking about a tiny child? At the crack of dawn, he followed her out of the cottage and deeper into Ballonlea, away from the human populace and where the mushrooms clustered closer overhead.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede glanced back at the house. “You’re not taking Mightyena or Obstagoon with you?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Our visitor is very shy and doesn’t take well to Dark type Pokemon. Best if it’s just the two of us coming up.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Impatience gnawed at him like the jaws of a Mawile. “You’ve got to tell me, Ms. Opal. Just who are we about to see?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She winked at him. “Someone who can’t resist the aroma of my cheri berry pie.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>That didn’t tell him anything. Bede found the old woman’s habit of withholding information maddening. A frustrated sigh slipped through his lips as he followed Opal through the tangle of moss, mushrooms, and the drooping branches of ancient trees.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It was easier to crawl through here when I was a little girl,” Opal remarked. She opened up her umbrella to protect herself from the snagging, finger-like twigs above them. She had Bede hold the pie while she led the way through the dense undergrowth. Finally they stopped inside a ring of tiny yellow mushrooms. The tree before them was so large and old that moss hung down from the branches like a thick green curtain.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal folded up her umbrella and took the pie from Bede. “I have your favorite pie warm and ready for you,“ she called. “Come on out.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>All was silent and still for several moments. Bede could hear the blood pound through his ears. Then the curtain of moss rustled. A light-green shape darted from behind them. Bede’s eyes could barely track the winged, flitting blur before it stopped just in front of the pie Opal held out.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>His jaw dropped. “Is that Celebi? That time-traveling Pokemon from the Johto region?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal lowered the pie to the forest floor and grinned at him. “You know your Legendary Pokemon. Looks like you didn’t skip all your lessons at the orphanage.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede’s cheeks warmed. “The only ones worth sitting through are the ones about Pokemon.” He shook his head in wonder. “Celebi...it really is real.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. He dared not raise it. If he did, he might just send the Pokemon flying back into hiding, he thought.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Long time no see, Celebi,” Opal said fondly. “You still remember me, don’t you?” She pulled off the pink and black glove on her right hand. Bede noticed a large, jagged scar on her palm, and when she turned her hand over, the same scar appeared on the back of it. It was as if someone had stuck a knife straight through her hand. Celebi gently laid its small, light green hands over Opal’s right palm, then smiled at her with a soft affirmative “Bi.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’m sorry that it’s been a while since I last paid you a visit,” she said. “I’m not getting any younger.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi touched its forehead against Opal’s and twirled in the air, perhaps to say that it didn’t mind and that it understood.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>They watched Celebi eat the pie, then Opal glanced at Bede. “I need to teach you how to cook sometime. The quickest way to a Pokemon’s heart is through the stomach.” She looked back at the little green Pokemon. “You know, I’m lobbying for the scientific community to retype Celebi as a Fairy type.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede raised his eyebrows at her. “How’s that going for you?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She shrugged and turned up her palms. “Not making much traction, unfortunately. I’ve been trying for the past forty years. Those scientists can be a stubborn bunch, I tell you.” The corners of a smirk made small indents in her cheeks. “I did, however, manage to play a part in convincing other regions to retype many of their Normal types. Professor Magnolia and I collaborated on a thesis to present to the research community. Did you know that Galar was the first region to officially recognize Fairy types? It took a while for the rest of the world to catch on.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede shook his head. “You sure are crazy about Fairy types, Ms. Opal.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She merely grinned at his comment. “Not crazy. Passionate. You find that passion, something to live for, and that makes life worth living.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi finished the pie and wiped red stains from its mouth. Opal took the chance to address it again. “Celebi, this is Bede, who I’ve taken under my wing. He needs to understand why I chose him to be next Gym Leader of this town. It’s not an answer I can give shortly and easily. Celebi, darling, I have a big favor to ask you. Please help him understand by taking him back to the time of my youth.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi considered this for a moment, then smiled and nodded.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede took a step back. “W-wait. I’m going back in time? With Celebi? How long am I going to be traveling back?” Suddenly he wished he had spent that past week preparing for the journey ahead. If only that woman had let him know in advance! “Won’t I need to eat, drink, sleep, and...” His ears grew hot. “You know, use the loo?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal waved a hand in dismissal. “Oh, don’t worry about all that. Celebi’s time-travel ability puts a peculiar effect on the human body, so that you leave and come back to find that barely a second had passed in the present day. You won’t be thinking about your usual bodily needs and functions. When Celebi takes you to another time, you’re not really there, in a sense. You’re there to observe only. You’ll have no physical presence and no power to alter the events you’ll see. Things would get quite hairy if that weren’t the case. Disrupts the continuum of time, creates paradoxes, and all that.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede didn’t fully understand, but he nodded. “All right, then. And what about you, Ms. Opal? Are you coming with me?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She shook her head. “There can’t be more than one self in the same era, which means that there can’t be young me and current me in the same time and place. I have to stay here in the present. So will your Pokemon. You won’t need them where you’ll be going. I’ll take care of them while you’re gone.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Throughout his life, Bede had been alone and fending for himself. It had always been him against the world. Normally Bede wouldn’t trust his Pokemon with anyone, but he knew from his time with her that he could trust a seasoned and caring Trainer like Opal. He unhooked his belt of Poke balls and handed them over to her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She hugged the belt to her chest, as if she understood the significance of his willingness and appreciated it. “You’ll be on your own, my boy, while you go see me seventy years ago. But don’t fret—Celebi is an excellent guide. You won’t get lost.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi danced a figure eight in the air and looked at Bede expectedly.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It is ready to take you through time,” Opal said. “When it does this, take its hands and don’t let go.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede stepped up to do as she told him. His fingers enveloped and closed over Celebi’s small hands. The time-traveling Pokemon from Johto tilted back its chin, closed its large eyes, and warm light emanated from its form. The light outshone the glowing mushrooms and sent ripples up the trees. Bede squeezed his fingers tighter around Celebi and shut his eyes, but that only made the insides of his eyelids go red. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Before the light engulfed everything, he caught Opal’s faint parting remarks. “Bede, my boy, you’ll find that you and I aren’t so different. You’ll understand what pink means. See you on the other side.”</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Musical inspiration for this chapter was “Departing London” from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.</p><p>When and how did Opal get the scar? Only time-traveling will tell! </p><p>I thought it’d be cute to have a naming pattern in Opal’s family, so everyone has a name ending in -al or -el, like Lionel, Randall and Kestrel.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Beginnings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the light faded, Bede cracked his eyes open. Slowly he let go of Celebi’s hands. He noticed the same ring of tiny yellow mushrooms, the same curtain of moss hanging over the big old tree. The only difference was that Opal was nowhere to be seen. It didn’t feel like he had jumped back seventy years, but that was because he hadn’t explored yet.</p><p>“Where do I go from here?” Bede asked Celebi. “Lead the way.”</p><p>“Bi!” The Pokemon flew ahead of him through the glowing mushrooms, but at a steady, hovering pace so he could keep up with it.</p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, Bede thought he spotted the pink horned ears of Impidimps as they scuttled through the undergrowth. Could they see him? He hoped not. When he was building his new team, he had refused to catch and raise one of those creepy little buggers.</p><p></p><div>
  <p>Celebi led him out to the trail that took them to the Ballonlea Gym. It flashed the same pink neon lights and emblem, but the doors had hinges and the Gym was half the size he expected. Bede guessed that both the regional population and enthusiasm for watching Gym battles had climbed since the 1950s, and at some point, the Gym underwent renovation to increase seating capacity and allow Dynamaxing. And automatic sliding doors hadn’t been invented yet.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I wonder what it looks like inside?” He asked out loud. He made for the doors, but Celebi halted him mid-stride by tugging on his sleeve. Just then the double doors burst open. They could have swung right into him if Celebi hadn’t stopped him. A tall, dark-haired young woman sprinted past the doors, past Bede, and down the opposite path he had taken to reach the Gym.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“That’s Ms. Opal,” Bede exclaimed.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi took off after her, prompting him to run after them both. He tried to follow them past the cluster of cottages and down the flights of stairs. Ballonlea Town hadn’t changed much in seventy years—just as Bede would expect out of an enchanting little town touched by Fairy type Pokemon. Opal sprinted into Glimwood Tangle without a pause or slowing down. Despite the gloom and patches of thick, tall grass, she clearly knew her way around as she wove back and forth through the labyrinth-like pathways and ducked into the gaps under fallen tree trunks.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Ms. Opal, wait,” Bede called out. Then he remembered that he had no physical presence here. She wouldn’t be able to see or hear him. Bede had been one of the faster boys in the orphanage, if not the fastest, but he pumped his arms and legs hard in great effort to keep up. “Bloody hell, she’s fast,” he managed to say between pants. Definitely not the slow old woman as he had first known her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ahead of him, Celebi made a sound close to a tinkering laugh. Bede thought that the chase would go on and on, and he would lose Opal in the thicket, but she slowed down. He pressed both hands to his knees and tried to catch his breath just behind her. She gently tapped at a nearby mushroom, sending a stronger green glow around them.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Mother,” Opal said softly. “I knew you would be here.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede peeked around her to spot an older woman curled up by the ledge. He recognized that tangle of long dark hair, and her long nose, though the old photo hid the fact that the woman’s shawl was actually a dull yellow, not gray. It took him a few seconds to realize that Opal’s mother, Ruby, was hugging a Mimikyu to her chest. Her Mimikyu, Bede guessed. The Pokemon extended a shadowy claw through its Pikachu-like cloak to rub soothing strokes on Ruby’s shoulder.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi beckoned at Bede to come closer. He edged farther in, feeling weird about eavesdropping on what was supposed to be a private moment between mother and daughter, but that was what the present-day Opal wanted him to do, anyway.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal knelt down to rest a hand on her mother’s back. Her right hand. It was bare, and Bede saw no scar there.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ruby shuddered and let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, dear. You know how I am around unexpected guests.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal’s eyes narrowed and her frown deepened, briefly adding a few more years to her young face. “Those reporters were quite rude, barging into the Gym like that for an unwarranted interview. I’ll place more security around the Gym to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ruby made a small, wan smile. “You’ve become such a mature and responsible young woman, despite everything I’ve done.” She shook her head. “No, because of everything I’ve done. Look at me, Opal. I can’t even handle being around a couple of news reporters without suffering a panic attack. You’ve had to keep the Gym running while I would be away trying to pull myself together. I’m sorry to put that burden on you, dear.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal shook her head. “You’ve trained me for this, Mother. I’m happy to do my duty.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Speaking of duty, I think that my time as Gym Leader is over.” Ruby had been stroking the top of Mimikyu’s head, and she lowered her hand to rest it on top of her daughter’s. “I apologize for the lack of ceremony...but Opal, dear, starting today, you will be the next Gym Leader of Ballonlea Town.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal jerked her hand away. “What? Now? But I haven’t-”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I know, your eighteenth birthday is three months away, and I had planned to hand over the Gym to you then. But in all honesty, I don’t think I can bear another three months. I’m at my limit, Opal. You know as well as I do that I am at odds with civilization. I am quite odd, aren’t I? I won’t be offended if you think so.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal frowned. “There’s nothing wrong with feeling more connected with Pokemon than with people.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“But feeling so connected with them that I want to cut off people forever?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal stared at her with silent, wide-eyed shock.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ruby closed her eyes, and Bede saw how the dark bruised look of them contrasted with the paleness of her face. “Yes, I’ve thought about it for years. I grow tired of human chatter and rabble. I can’t stand the roaring and cheering in the Gym stadium. I get this terrible ringing in my ears. It drives me mad. Every day I feel the wilderness and its wild Pokemon calling to me, drawing me away from society, promising a cure. Only in that quietness and seclusion can I find peace, and my ears don’t ring anymore.” Ruby opened her eyes to return Opal’s pitying gaze. “I’ve kept my post as Gym Leader for your sake, so I could teach you what I know, everything I know about Fairy type Pokemon. You may not be eighteen yet, but I believe that you are ready. Consider this an early birthday present from me.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal pursed her lips. “Thank you, Mother,” she murmured.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You’re welcome, and good-bye, my dear.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal drew back and blinked many times under a scrunched up brow. “Good-bye? You’re leaving today?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ruby’s voice was gentle but firm. “This will be my last day among people. No more human contact after today.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Even me?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, Opal, even you.” Ruby took her daughter’s hand and squeezed it. “That is not to say that I don’t love you. Not at all. A parent is not supposed to have favorites, but of all my children, you are my absolute favorite. I’m sure you know that already.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal smiled. “Well, I’m the only one who can understand you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ruby nodded. “You chose to come with me when your father and I got divorced. You chose to leave behind all the riches in Wynwall, your father and your brothers, to train under me and learn the ways of Fairy type Pokemon. That was not an easy choice to make.” She lowered Mimikyu to the ground and rose to her feet, pulling her shawl tighter around herself. “You have been good company, and a good student, but now that I’ve passed on the torch to you, your place is with Ballonlea, while my place is elsewhere. The best option for us both is to part ways.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Where will you go, Mother?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ruby tilted her head to one side in thought. “Deeper into Glimwood Tangle, or perhaps into the Slumbering Weald. I heard that the locals in the nearby town are forbidden from entering it.” She smiled. “That sounds like an ideal place for someone who doesn’t want to be found. I will live off the salt of the earth, eat berries from trees in the forest, and drink from the rain and the river.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ruby’s sincerity behind that declaration made Opal take on the look of a girl half her age, frightened and overwhelmed. “I won’t ever see you again? You’ll be alone to the end of your days?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ruby placed a hand over Opal’s chest. “I’ll always be in your heart, if you care to remember me afterwards, and I’ll never be alone. I’ll have Pokemon by my side. I’ve always taken delight in their company, and I’ll continue to do so for the rest of my life.” She pursed her lips to let out a soft whistle, and from the bushes nearby, a Sylveon, a Shiinotic, and a Florges joined Mimikyu around Ruby. Her team of Pokemon, Bede realized. The only ones who would follow their Trainer into a life of untamed isolation.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ruby pulled her daughter into a hug—or tried to, as if she had never quite grasped the motions. “Good-bye, my dear Opal. May you be brilliant and glorious as the precious stone I named you after.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal returned the hug with arms wrapped tightly around her mother, and Ruby’s eyes widened as she received the entirety of that embrace. Opal pulled away and nodded. “Good-bye, Mother. Safe travels.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ruby tightened the shawl around her body once more and stepped away from the paved path, taking nothing with her but the clothes on her back and the Pokemon she had trained. Her Pokemon followed her into the undergrowth.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Thinking of how his own family dropped him off at the orphanage and didn’t look back, Bede wanted to shout after Ruby, “Go back to your daughter. You can’t just leave her like that.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>But he couldn’t make himself heard, so he wondered if Opal would. She didn’t call after her mother. Nor did she break into pursuit like she did before. Instead she stared at her mother’s retreating back, up until the darkness and mist enveloped her. Finally, she turned away and walked back the way she came. Back to the town. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Even while walking, Opal had a long, quick stride that Bede had to put effort in matching. Once at her side, Bede looked up at her to notice with surprise that tears had been welling up in her eyes. A muscle in her jaw twitched from clenched teeth. Suddenly she stopped near a tree stump to lean on it and let out a sob into her sleeve.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede stood by awkwardly, biting on his bottom lip and shifting his weight. Opal had just lost her mother suddenly, strangely, and was left with a new burden to carry on her shoulders. She didn’t succumb to that invisible weight, nor did she dwell in that spot. She wiped the back of her hand over her eyes. After a few moments, Opal gathered herself to a stern-faced composure. She drew in a shaky breath, straightened the black bow on her white blouse, and combed her fingers through short dark hair that had been messy and windswept from running. She carried on and wore that stern mask into town. Reporters in coats and fedoras streamed out of the Gym carrying notepads and those old-timey cameras with the big round flash bulbs. They assaulted her with their inquiring chatter—a rude, jarring contrast from the quiet, private exchange between Ruby and Opal at Glimwood Tangle.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Miss Opal, might we have a word with you, please?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Did you manage to find your mother?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Is the Gym Leader available for an interview?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal fixed them with a chilly look that kept them from coming too close to her. “My mother will not be taking any questions. <em>I</em> am Ballonlea’s Gym Leader now.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The huddle of reporters erupted into a swarm, like a disturbed hive of Combees. Opal kept her chin high and strode past them, refusing to make eye contact and ignoring their flood of questions and exclamations. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede followed after her with growing respect. Opal carried on that commanding presence even to her old age. He remembered her rare League Card: a picture of him standing to attention like a soldier at Opal’s side, ready to be taught under her strict regimen.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Chin up, back straight, shoulders squared, hands to your sides,” she had ordered. “Top form, now. Look like you’re going to take Fairy type Pokemon seriously.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>A tug at his collar made him stop. Bede turned to see Celebi gesturing at him to take both of its hands. Time-traveling again. He supposed he thought that was all to see at this point. But watching Opal’s mother pass on the Gym Leader title didn’t explain why Opal wanted to pass it on to <em>him</em>. Maybe there was more to see. Bede held Celebi’s hands and grimaced as a brilliant light radiated from the Legendary Pokemon.</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede found himself facing a stage. Spotlights pointed at the stage made the rest of the room dim. He must be inside the Gym, its theatre. Though he had never formally challenged the Gym, as Opal’s protege he had been led (dragged, rather) inside the theatre enough times to know it from front to back. The Gym, like the town outside, hadn’t changed much back then. The stage was made of the same wood and the curtains had the same color. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Next to him, Opal sat alone at a narrow table, with a cup of tea in her left hand and a pen hovering over papers in her right. Celebi had Bede jump a bit forward in time, still in the past. Opal looked a year or two older than the last time Bede saw her. Still quite young to be managing a theatre. She seemed at ease with the role, however, as she presided over stacks of resumes, score sheets, and of course, questionnaires of her own design, and she scrutinized a young man who stepped onto the stage. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede frowned at Celebi. “She’s looking for a new Gym Leader already? Didn’t she just get it from her mum?” But no Trainer stepped up to challenge the young man to a battle. Bede realized that this was normal theatre business. Straight-up auditioning for a part in some play.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The man didn’t introduce himself, because Opal already had his resume in front of her, and after clearing his throat, he went straight into singing. Opal closed her eyes and rested the pen on her chin. At first Bede thought she was bored and on the verge of falling asleep. Then he noticed how she angled her head toward the stage, how her brow furrowed a bit in concentration. She was, in fact, listening intently. Bede wasn’t into musical theatre, so he didn’t recognize the lines. He couldn’t tell if the man was doing well or not. Opal kept her expression impassive as she gauged the performance.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She didn’t scribble anything into the score sheet until the man finished. She nodded at him. “Thank you for your time. I will release the results sometime next week.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He bowed and exited the stage. Bede had noticed disappointment flicker in the young man’s face before he had bowed. That man must’ve been hoping to be told his results right then and there. Opal wrote more comments into the score sheet, then arranged the papers into neater stacks in a way that she would look at them later. As she rose from the table, Bede could hear murmuring and rustling as those behind the scenes shut off the spotlights and pulled the curtains closed. Celebi tugged at Bede’s sleeve, beckoning him to follow Opal out of the theatre. He stumbled after her at the same time a Gym Trainer accompanied her outside.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“How were the performances today, Miss Opal?” The Gym Trainer asked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal propped a hand on her hip and huffed a sigh. “Lackluster, I’m afraid. No one’s up to snuff.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Not even alumni from your own school, like that man who last auditioned?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“A degree from the Hammerlocke Royal Academy of the Arts alone doesn’t make exceptions, nor can it save a subpar performance. ”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>At Opal’s condescending remark, the Gym Trainer made a sheepish suggestion: “Perhaps you need to lower your standards, ma’am.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal seemed to balk at that suggestion as she flicked her hand in the air. “I will not settle for anyone less than the very best, who I’ve had no luck finding. Today’s the last day for auditions, but I’m thinking about extending them to the next three days, if that’s possible.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The Gym Trainer looked down at her clipboard and shook her head. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but we’re running on a tight schedule. We can’t delay production and rehearsal any longer. You will need to settle on who will play Raoul soon.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal splayed fingers through her short dark hair in response. “At this rate, no one will play the part.” She shook her head. “I’ve been cooped up in the theatre for too long. Perhaps fresh air and a walk will do me a bit of good. I will think more over the candidates we’ve auditioned.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Apparently the Gym Trainer liked that answer as her face and voice perked up. “Very good, Miss Opal.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>And it was apparent to Bede that Opal only said that to appease the Gym Trainer, because as the older woman went back inside, Opal let the frustration settle back into her face. She turned away from the Gym and took a trail farther into the forest.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Ms. Opal always did set unrealistic standards,” Bede remarked with amusement to Celebi. He and the time-traveling Pokemon followed Opal off the trail and into the thicket of glowing mushrooms and old trees. The soft beat of flapping wings made Bede glance up. A Togekiss drifted from above to settle on a sapling next to Opal. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>She greeted the Pokemon with a grin and reached out to smooth back its blue and red plumage. “You can sense my frustration from a mile away, can’t you? Did you come to help calm me down?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The Togekiss, her Togekiss, trilled and rubbed its cheek against her palm.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal withdrew her hand to ball it into a fist over her chest. “What am I going to do, Togekiss? The casting process had never been this much of a pain. Then again, I have to find someone for not just any song, but my absolute favorite song in the play. I guess that makes all the difference. Perhaps my search for the perfect match is like trying to find a Legendary Pokemon.” She raised her hands, then let them fall to her sides in resigned helplessness. “I may be running a theatre, and I have the authority to cast whoever I want, but it doesn’t feel like I have control. I don’t control how someone else sings and acts, and if they all come in not singing and acting the way I’d like, then I don’t have a choice at all.” Opal looked like she wanted to swat at the nearest glowing mushroom, but Togekiss cooed and jumped up to gently land on her head. She took a stumbling step forward and laughed, catching Togekiss with her hands.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You’re not a little Togetic anymore. Off with you, now, before I fall over.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Togekiss jumped back onto the branch it had been sitting on, and Opal smoothed her hair back into place.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You know, Togekiss, the only thing I feel that I have true control over is myself.” Opal closed her eyes, as if drinking in the sounds of the forest. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>She drew in a deep breath and sang in rich, melodious soprano that startled Bede and sent chills down his back. The most he would hear from the Opal he knew was a low hum here and there, and he had seen her sing in old photos, but he had never heard her sing like this. He shouldn’t be surprised, though. If she had been a talented actress back then, and acting often involved singing and dancing, then she must have been skilled in those areas, too.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede wanted to sit there in the forest and listen to her sing forever, but she stopped after five lines. The forest seemed to swallow up her voice. Then, from a distance, came the following few lines in alto. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal gasped. “Togekiss, did you hear that?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her Pokemon chirped in affirmation. Opal straightened up and looked around, trying to pinpoint the direction of the mystery voice. Whoever was singing fell silent, prompting her to carry on with the duet and sing the next lines.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede didn’t have her ear for what kind of singing was good or bad, but it was evident even to him that this mystery voice had her enraptured. She was bent on locating the source of that voice, pushing through the tall grass and sweeping her gaze across the forest like an explorer on a jungle expedition. Togekiss helped her track down the voice as it flew ahead. Bede followed behind her, curious as she was about who could be singing the duet with her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal lurched to a halt, making Bede nearly run into her. He peeked around her to match her wide-eyed surprise.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Huddled against the tree was a man in a tattered coat. His matted brown hair was so thick and unkempt that it hid his lips and nearly hid his dark eyes. A backpack patched with dirt and bulging at the seams sat next to him. Wrapped about his neck like a striped scarf, a Galarian Linoone bared its teeth at Opal. A Mightyena lying down on all fours lifted its downcast gaze at the man’s feet to stare back at her warily.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The surprise on Opal’s face twisted into confusion. “You...were you the one singing with me—“ Her question turned into a cry of alarm as the man collapsed right in front of her. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Linoone and Mightyena growled at Opal, stopping her from running up to him. She raised her hands at them as a disarming gesture.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Calm down, I’m not going to hurt him,” she said firmly.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her Togekiss flew down before Linoone and Mightyena to convey her Trainer’s intentions to them. Only then did the pair of Dark type Pokemon flatten their fur and slink back to let Opal kneel down and gently turn the man over.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Sir, can you hear me?” She called, and she shook her head in panic when he didn’t respond. Bede heard her mutter, “Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead.” Then she said, “Togekiss, get help from the clinic.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her Pokemon cried out to acknowledge her command and flew out of sight.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Just call for help on the Rotom Phone, Bede thought, but he realized that they hadn’t been invented yet. He knew that there was nothing he could do. Still, he didn’t feel right standing by helplessly as Opal tried to rouse the man.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>His eyes fluttered open, making Opal blow out a sigh of relief. “Good, try to stay awake. Don’t worry, sir, I’m getting you help.” She would give him a shake if his eyes were about to close again. “What’s your name? Could you at least tell me that?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>His dried lips quivered. “R-Roger.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For copyright reasons I won’t and can’t put lyrics in a fic, but I hope it’s obvious that the lines Opal and Roger are exchanging refer to a song in Phantom of the Opera, “All I Ask of You.” I love that song to bits.</p><p>For voices, I imagine young Opal to sound like Michelle Dockery as Mary Crawley from Downton Abbey. The upper-class, haughty cadence of Mary’s voice suits the cultured and occasionally arrogant young Opal I’m portraying.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Love Story</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The doctor at the clinic identified fatigue and dehydration as the culprit of Roger’s condition. The man had to lie in bed and receive IV treatment.</p><p>The doctor turned to Opal, who had been watching with quiet concern from the threshold of the treatment room. “Should be right as rain in a few days,” he said, “given enough rest and fluids, anyway.”</p><p>Bede could tell that she had a handful of questions at the tip of her tongue. Of course she would. He would too, if he ran into a strange, apparently homeless man in the woods.</p><p>Finally she told the doctor, “I’ll go see how his Pokemon are doing.”</p><p>Bede followed her to Ballonlea’s Pokemon Center across the street, where the nurse had been treating Roger’s Mightyena and Linoone. Their coats were no longer dirty and untidy, but clean and smooth. They perked their ears and wagged their tails when they saw Opal stride up to them.</p><p>“Don’t worry, you two, your Trainer’s doing fine at the clinic,” she assured them. “He still needs to be in bed, though. I’m here to pick you up and take you to him, if you’ll let me.”</p><p>The two Pokemon exchanged a glance, and Mightyena hopped down from the examination counter to stand at her side. She extended her arms, inviting Linoone to be held. It jumped into her embrace, then surprised her as it scrabbled at the fabric of her dress shirt to curl around her neck and shoulders.</p><p></p><div>
  <p>She chuckled. “You prefer that, then?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Linoone replied with an affirmative grunt.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Poke balls really weren’t around back then, huh?” Bede asked Celebi. “I don’t think twice about having them. They sure are convenient.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The two Pokemon accompanied Opal dutifully and quietly until she returned to the clinic. Roger sat up in his bed as soon as he heard Mightyena and Linoone calling for him. The doctor rushed into the room to click his tongue at the Pokemon.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“No jumping on the bed, now,” he told them. “And keep it down. You’ll disturb the other patients.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Mightyena and Linoone’s excitement couldn’t be curbed until Roger had to repeat the doctor’s orders gently, with a smile behind his unkempt facial hair. Bede noticed that Opal tried to hide her own smile. It was clear to him and her that the two Pokemon found a kind and good friend in Roger.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You’ll have to stay in the clinic overnight,” the doctor said to Roger. “Then you can be discharged if you’re stable the next day. After that, you’re out of my hands, I’m afraid.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger scratched the back of his head. “It’s already been obvious to this young lady here, but I’m embarrassed to say that I have no place to stay.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“There’s plenty of space at the theatre,” Opal said. “We can clear out a room for you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger’s eyes widened. “The Ballonlea Theatre? Oh no, I couldn’t possibly—“</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“That’s the next best place. The inn’s under construction.” A mischievous light glinted in Opal’s blue eyes. “Between the theatre and sharing a house with me, an unmarried woman, the rules of society dictate that the first option is a bit less strange and a bit more acceptable.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>That made Roger laugh. “You have a point there. I appreciate your kindness, Miss—um...”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Opal. My name’s Opal. How do you do?” She reached out to shake his hand, paying no heed to his embarrassment and reluctance to extend his own hand. Perhaps he thought she would be disgusted by his shabbiness. Her initiative seemed to surprise and delight him as his face lit up.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede thought he might’ve seen a spark of something as their hands linked. Maybe because he knew years later what would happen between the two.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The next day, after Roger’s condition improved and he was well enough to leave the clinic, Opal had the Ballonlea Theatre’s makeup department clean him up. She passed the time by training her Pokemon in the empty stadium. Well, empty when Bede and Celebi didn’t count.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It was like watching a rehearsal for dancers and actors, which didn’t surprise Bede at all. Weezing, Mawile, Togekiss, and Alcremie practiced their moves with finesse and grace. In between her orders, Opal called out encouragement and praise for their top form.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Ms. Opal sure likes to put on a good show for everything,” Bede said to Celebi, who chirped in agreement.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He remembered one of the many pieces of unsolicited advice she had given him: “My boy, even in defeat, it is the duty of us Gym Leaders to give the audience a spectacle worth watching.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal lived by that for a very long time. She never lost her flair for the dramatic. Small wonder that even to the present day, she had scores of fans when she otherwise might’ve been pushed aside and overshadowed by younger stars like Nessa and Raihan. Watching the early days of Opal’s passion not only for Pokemon battling, but for making it an art, put a smile on Bede’s face.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The training only stopped when a Gym Trainer showed up at the stadium entrance. “Miss Opal, we’re done,” she called. Then she winked and said, “Mr. Roger’s ready for you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede saw with amusement that Opal didn’t acknowledge the Gym Trainer’s suggestive tone as she gathered her Pokemon to her side and strode back into the theatre.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger emerged a transformed man. A dark, closely fit suit accentuated his tall, slender build. His beard was neatly trimmed. His hair was combed back and closely cropped. All in all, much closer to the dashing gentleman Bede recognized in the old photos. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal’s gaze briskly swept him head to toe. Bede noticed that her cheeks turned a bit red at the sight of Roger. A spark of something definitely went off there.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“How do you like your new look?” She asked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Very much, thank you, ma’am.” He shook his head and turned up his palms. ”How can I ever repay you?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal held up a hand. “No need for that. My Gym Trainers and I don’t mind accommodating you. Isn’t that right, ladies?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Certainly,” one of them said before they all dissolved into light giggles behind their hands.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal silenced them with a pointed look under a raised eyebrow, then turned her attention back to Roger. “Besides, frankly you don’t look like you’re in any shape to repay us.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Though she kept her tone gentle without judgment, Roger sighed and averted his gaze out of shame. “It’s true. I’ve been barely scraping by. My Pokemon and I have roamed far and wide, living day by day off of whatever battle money we can get.” He cracked a sheepish smirk. “And I’m not a very good battler.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Well, as you may or may not be aware, Ballonlea Theatre also functions as a Gym,” Opal replied. “We are fully staffed, so I have no need for more Trainers to keep our Gym challenge running. We do, however, need someone to fill in for a role in a play we are trying to put together.” She eyed Roger with interest. “You might just be the one we need.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger tugged at his new tie. “You flatter me, Miss.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I say ‘might’ because you’ll have to audition first. I have no doubt that you’ll pass with flying colors, though.” Opal walked over to a table and pulled out a few papers to hand to Roger. “Here’s the casting call and script. We’re supposed to end the call today, but I’ll make an exception for you. Will you be up for auditioning tomorrow afternoon?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, Miss Opal, I can.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Very good. I heard you singing when you were on the verge of collapse. I look forward to hearing you sing at your best.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede didn’t hear any more of the conversation as Celebi took his hands. The flash of light coming from Celebi was so short that Bede didn’t have time to shut his eyes. Must have been a tiny skip in time.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>They jumped to the next day. Roger’s performance during his audition had Opal floored. She was so impressed that she actually went up on stage to sing along with him—something she had never done with the other candidates.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She treated him to dinner later at the Dancing Impidimp, Ballonlea’s premier cafe not too far from the Gym. Bede sat down at a table for two next to them, just in time for him to catch Opal exclaiming in disbelief, “You mean to tell me that you were never classically trained?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She had almost dropped her cup of tea in the process.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It’s true,” Roger said modestly. “I never went to school for theatre and singing. Couldn’t afford it.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Well, you must have learned somehow.” She sounded more curious and astonished than accusatory.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“When I was young, before I turned ten to become a Trainer, a traveling troupe would visit my home town once in a while to perform. I was enraptured. I committed the notes and steps of all the songs to memory. I wanted to dance and sing just like them. Unfortunately, when I became old enough to join that troupe, they disbanded. My family was too poor to send me to a proper school, so I tried my hand at making money as a Pokemon Trainer, but that didn’t work out so well, either.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal inclined her head at him. “Where did you grow up? I gather from your lack of a Galarian accent that you’re not from around here, I know that much.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’m from Hoenn, ma’am.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She raised her eyebrows for a moment. “You’ve come a long way, Mr. Roger.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’m from Littleroot Town, to be exact. Maybe you’ve heard of it? I won’t be surprised at all if you haven’t. It’s a sleepy little town, a blip on the map.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I can’t say that I’ve heard of it,” she admitted.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Me neither,” Bede said, knowing that only Celebi would hear him. He had never set foot outside of Galar. It made sense that Roger came from Hoenn. Mightyenas were not local to the Galar region.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had a rough upbringing,” Opal went on after a sip of her tea. “It’s a shame that your talents weren’t recognized. You have an amazing voice. You have the part, for sure. I’ll pay you generously for your contribution to the play.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger raised his hands as if he was trying to stop her. “Miss Opal, you’ve already done so much for me. You gave me a place to stay, let me keep new clothes, and gave me work to do. Any more and you’ll make me very guilty.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh, don’t be guilty about it. I have a lot of money to spare. Trust me.” Then she raised a hand to her chest. “Oh, dear. That must’ve come off as quite snobby.” She cleared her throat. “What I mean to say is that you deserve reward for your talent, and that I have no reservations about supporting you wholeheartedly. At least, until the play is done and you can get back on your feet.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger beamed at her. “Thank you. I think I’m going to enjoy my time here.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi touched Bede’s hands once more and they jumped forward in time. He ended up back in the theatre, facing the stage, among a packed audience that sent up a rousing applause for the actors assembled for the final bow. Opal and Roger, decked out in stunning, classy costumes, were among those who bowed with broad grins and a flourish. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi tugged at Bede’s sleeve, beckoning him to follow Opal and her Gym Trainers to the dressing room. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede frowned. “I don’t know, Celebi, that’s the room for <em>women</em>—“</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Bi!” The time-traveling Pokemon gave him a playful shove from behind. He had no choice but to duck into the door before the last woman inside shut it behind her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Stunning duet, as always, Miss Opal,” one of the Trainers remarked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You and Roger make such a great team,” another Trainer said.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“And a great couple, one day,” said yet another Trainer with a giggle.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal rolled her eyes as she scrubbed off makeup before the mirror. “Ladies, please. Don’t get all your skirts in a ruffle. The man’s twelve years older than me. He would be more interested in a woman his age.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh, I don’t think so,” said the Gym Trainer with a gleam in her eye. “Have you seen the way he can barely take his eyes off of you when we rehearse and perform? He’s absolutely smitten by you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Who can blame the poor man? You are a prime specimen of charm and beauty, Miss Opal.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal snatched up a fan from the box of props sitting nearby and swatted at the teasing Gym Trainers. “Enough of this. He and I are just playing our parts. Nothing to it.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh, it’s much more than that, Miss Opal. You just don’t see it yet.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The young Ballonlea Gym Leader huffed in exasperation. “I’ll never change out of costume in peace with you ladies around.” With a scowl and reddened cheeks, she put attitude into unbuttoning her dress while the women continued to laugh and tease her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi spared Bede from looking anymore as it took his hands. </p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede ended up back at the Dancing Impidimp, where Opal and Roger sat down for lunch.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You would like the usual, I presume?” The waiter asked them.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, please,” Opal replied, and the waiter took their orders with a knowing smile.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“They must come here a lot,” Bede remarked to Celebi.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>On the table between the two were a stack of papers bound by clips, so the breeze wouldn’t blow them away. Bede wondered what those were when Opal said, “Now I know why you insisted that you didn’t want your backpack thrown away with all your old clothes. All these plays you wrote...they’re brilliant. I can’t believe that no one would take them.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“There’s no market for plays in Hoenn,” Roger replied. “Pokemon Contests are all the rage there. I tried taking them to Unova, but Pokestar Studios make films and have no interest in plays. So I made my way here, because I got word that the Ballonlea Theatre takes a chance on original plays.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You heard correctly. We’ve always had a reputation for being avant-garde. Yes, we usually run the classic and established plays, but when we find a story that’s good enough, we take that to the stage as well. And everything you have here is more than good enough, Roger. You are a born storyteller. Is there anything you can’t do?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger laughed. “Well, I can barely put up a good fight in a Pokemon battle. Don’t believe me? Ask Mightyena and Obstagoon, the poor chaps. I’m just not cut out for thinking on my feet and following my intuition. I lost to enough Trainers half my age that it’s quite embarrassing. And I lost count of the number of times I was tempted to burn these scripts, just for a warmer fire at night.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’m glad you didn’t throw them into the fire. I would love to have the theatre perform these plays you’ve written. We’ve run dry on originality these days. We could use a breath of fresh air.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger raised an eyebrow. “Even if the ending’s tragic and everyone dies?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Especially that,” Opal replied. “I love the power and poignancy of sad stories. I love wringing a few tears out of the audience.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You are quite the sadist,” he joked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Says the one who writes those kind of stories.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Touché.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede noticed the change in atmosphere since the two had shared a meal at the Dancing Impidimp for the first time. All throughout their banter, they leaned their heads closer, the space between them smaller. They had grown comfortable enough around each other to laugh freely and easily. Neither of them needed to reach over much to brush hands. It was only a matter of time before the two took their relationship further. But how much time? </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi answered that by clasping Bede’s hands. This time Celebi took him through brief snapshots, compounded into a compilation of increasingly intimate moments between Opal and Roger.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He watched the two spend long hours in the theatre, collaborating to bring a creative vision from paper to stage. The table Opal had once occupied alone to assess auditions was now shared with Roger as they bent over stacks of scripts to discuss. They would share a pack of cigarettes during these sessions. Many animated conversations were held, and sometimes they escalated to heated proportions when the two disagreed.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>To Bede’s dismay, Celebi brought time traveling to a halt to focus on their most heated argument.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger frowned across the table at Opal. “I don’t want to make that kind of change to the script.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She tapped the end of her cigarette into the ashtray. “It won’t look good on stage. Please, Roger, you need to reconsider.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You’re asking me to butcher a character beyond recognition.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She loudly expelled a huff of frustration and smoke from her mouth. “It’s not <em>butchering</em>. You call rewriting a few lines of dialogue butchering?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, because those few lines are the essential pivot to the plot!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Mightyena was curled up in a napping position close to the table, and at Roger’s raised voice, it raised its head and growled at Opal.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She briefly pressed fingers to her temple. “I don’t know any other way to say this without telling it to you straight: the way you portray this character is sexist. It’s painfully clear to me because I am a woman and you’re not.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>That statement from her stamped disbelief all over Roger’s face. “I’m not <em>trying</em> to be—“</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I know you’re not, but being unintentionally sexist is still sexist.” Opal folded her arms across her chest. “You’re not helping your case by challenging me here.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I still can’t see where you’re coming from. I tried. I really did. I think you’re looking too much into it.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“What more can I do to make you see things my way?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“<em>Your</em> way? These are <em>my</em> stories.” Roger stood up to glare down at Opal. “If there’s something that I don’t want to change, you’d better respect that.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“And this is <em>my</em> stage.“ She rose from her seat to get nose-to-nose with him. “Your stories aren’t going anywhere without my say so. Your stories aren’t meant to sit on the shelves. They’re meant to be acted out on stage.” Her eyes narrowed to cold blue slits. “I’ve had years of training and experience on the place your stories are meant to be. So you’d better respect <em>that</em>.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“We’re pulling out the education and fancy degree cards now? When you know that I don’t have one?” Roger’s voice was sharp with scorn. “I didn’t expect you to stoop that low, Opal, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Because you’re the most arrogant, stuck-up, controlling woman I’ve had the displeasure of knowing.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal flinched back as if he had struck her with his hand. Wide-eyed anger rendered her speechless for a moment, then hurt seeped into her face as her brow furrowed and her lower lip quivered. She crushed the cigarette in her hand and let it fall into the ashtray. What she said next came out tight and clipped, but not to Roger. “Weezing, use Fairy Wind.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She turned on her heel and stormed away from Roger just as her Pokemon floating nearby unleashed the attack on him. He cried out and threw up his hands, sneezing and coughing while Opal fled the theatre.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede too was taken by surprise. He squeezed his eyes shut despite not being affected by the sparkling puff like Roger. He blinked his eyes open in time to catch Celebi flying after Opal. He took off after it.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He heard Roger mutter to himself, “Roger, you idiot.” Then he called, “Opal, come back!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>In a time before Poke balls, Pokemon like Rapidash were kept in a stable. The theatre had a stable nearby. Bede ran outside to see Opal free one of the Rapidash from its stall in the stable. Tears ran unchecked down her face. Once she jumped on the Rapidash, she spurred it to a gallop. The Pokemon, startled and confused by her abruptness, reared back and whinnied before following her command. Bede jumped out of the way as the Rapidash hurtled past him.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Great. How am I supposed to follow her now?” He asked Celebi. He was a fast runner, but there was no way he could catch up with a Rapidash.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>But Celebi hovered in place, watching Opal and Rapidash take off in the direction of Glimwood Tangle. Not too far from Bede, Roger had burst out from behind the Gym doors, still coughing and blinking in confusion at the dwindling Opal.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Opal, please, come back,” he cried.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>But she disappeared with the Rapidash into the woods. A few seconds later, Bede heard a terrible scream. He and Roger broke into a run in response. When they reached the edge of Glimwood Tangle, Opal was sprawled on her back, her face and voice twisted in agony. The Rapidash she had been riding didn’t run off, but remained nearby, stamping its hooves in mixed agitation and guilt. Clearly Opal had fallen off the Rapidash.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede stood where he was, frozen in horror, while Roger ran up to Opal with arms outstretched, ready to pick her up.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“No, don’t,” she gasped. “I think I broke my back.” She crushed grass into her fists, and all she could get out next was a ragged, drawn out scream of pain.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger had to run back into town to get help, and Opal had to be moved onto a stretcher because she couldn’t even sit up. She spent the rest of that day bound to a bed at the Stow-On-Side Hospital. The doctors there found that she had fractured a few bones along her spine, and had torn several muscles of her lower back.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>That explains her bad back, Bede thought. He didn’t think she had gotten it this young, though, in her early twenties. He had always thought it was just from her being so old.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger stayed close to Opal’s side throughout the medical evaluation and diagnosis. So did Bede and Celebi.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal had a tight grip on Roger’s hand through her painful ordeal, before the painkillers kicked in, and he let her hold his hand. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Opal, I’m so, so sorry,” he murmured. “This is all my fault.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“No, I’m the one who shouldn’t have jumped on a bloody Rapidash, of all Pokemon, while I was upset and not thinking straight.” She cracked a smirk. “Not a good idea, Roger. I don’t recommend it.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He didn’t laugh to her weak attempt at humor. “I hurt you. That’s what led to all of this. I’ve thought about your input on the script since coming to the hospital, and you were right. I should’ve listened to you. I shouldn’t have been so harsh.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“No. You were right to call me out. I had been arrogant, and...” She trailed off and blinked several times, apparently a bit loopy and scatterbrained from all the medications. “What else did you call me?” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Stuck-up and controlling,” Roger said in a small voice.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Ah, that’s right. I had to get off my high horse, so I did. Literally.” Opal laughed at her own joke, then looked like she regretted laughing as she winced.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger squeezed her hand. “I don’t know where I would be without you, Opal. I have a place to stay, decent clothes to wear, enough food to eat, a job that I enjoy, all thanks to you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She smiled up at him. “Well, I don’t do that for just anybody, you know. You have so much talent that I would be a fool to ignore. I love your vision and your voice, and...” She blushed. “I love you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger drew away in shock, but didn’t let go of her hand, and his own face reddened. “I...I love you, too.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Coming from sixty years down the line, this came as no surprise to Bede. Still, suddenly he felt that he was intruding on a private moment, and that he ought to wait outside or something.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal drew in a sharp breath. “You...you really love me?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“From the moment I laid my eyes on you, when you stumbled into me in the woods. Of course I didn’t admit it back then, but you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I thought I was hallucinating.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger’s confession made Opal blush even harder. “I fell in love with your voice first,” she said. “You completely drew me in. I can’t remember the last time I’ve ever felt that...that enchanted.” She furrowed her brow. “Perhaps the last time was when I discovered my love for Fairy type Pokemon, when I was a little girl given a Togepi egg.” Then she averted her gaze from Roger, to fix it at the end of her white, clean hospital bed. “I was born into a wealthy and powerful family in Wynwall. I didn’t like growing up there. I wanted to escape. I wanted to prove to the world that I wasn’t a girl who only knew money and things handed to her on a silver platter. So I left for Ballonlea Town. Worked hard under my mother’s tutelage. I tried to leave my roots behind. Apparently I didn’t.” She shook her head against the pillow and sighed. “I am the youngest and only female Gym Leader in Galar, Roger.” Her eyes grew wet with tears. “I suppose, in my efforts to compensate, to prove myself to all the older men, I could never let go of being the stuck-up rich girl I was meant to be.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger reached out to gently brush away the tears on her cheeks with his thumb. “I doubt that you would have given me a second glance if you really are that stuck-up. You can be a little haughty, to be honest, and comfortable with being in charge, but that’s because you run a Gym <em>and</em> a theatre. You have all my admiration and respect for that.” He lifted her hand to kiss the back of it. “You’re not just beautiful, but strong, passionate, and you care so much about Pokemon and theatre. I love you for all of that.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He leaned over to plant a soft, tender kiss on her lips.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede let out a small groan and covered his eyes. Celebi uttered something close to a tinkering laugh and touched both of his hands.</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede opened his eyes and lowered his hands to find himself back at the Ballonlea Theatre. The actors had finished performing a play and split up after the final bow. All except for Roger, who stood where he was at the center of the stage, and Opal, whose hand was taken by Roger before she could walk away. Along with everyone else in the audience, Bede gasped as Roger lowered himself on one knee and presented Opal with a ring.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“This is not an act,” Roger declared, not just to the audience, but to her. “This is for life. Opal, will you marry me?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede knew that she would say yes. What he didn’t know until now was how that moment came about so publicly, and of course, theatrically. He found himself grinning widely and clapping with the audience as Opal threw herself into Roger’s arms and buried tears of joy into his costume.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi interrupted his clapping by taking his hands. The time-traveling Pokemon never made him leave the theatre, but still transported him to a time when that theatre turned into a site for a wedding.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Amid the gathering of colorful flowers and Fairy type Pokemon, and standing with rows of witnesses, Bede looked up to see Opal and Roger, the bride and the groom, reciting their vows. Their Pokemon stood beside them—Mightyena and Obstagoon next to Roger, and Mawile, Togekiss, Weezing, and Alcremie next to Opal. Looking at her now took Bede’s breath away. Her pixie-like dark hair, coupled with the white, flowing dress and a sparkling lacy veil, made for a stunning, radiant sight. If he hadn’t known any better, he might’ve thought she was a princess. He had seen the old photos, but that didn’t hold a candle to seeing it for himself.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>His voice was soft with awe and wonder. “Wow, Celebi...Ms. Opal is so beautiful.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal and Roger sealed the ceremony with a long, deep kiss, becoming husband and wife. This time, Bede didn’t cover his eyes.</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sometimes I think I’m pushing the envelope with the 12-year age gap between Opal and Roger, but then I think of how the real Maria and Captain von Trapp, the couple whose story inspired The Sound of Music, were 25 years apart, and I don’t feel as bad. </p><p>Speaking of The Sound of Music, musical inspiration for this chapter is: Laendler!</p><p>I imagine Roger to look like Gregory Peck, the actor best known for playing Atticus Finch in the film adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird. He was in Roman Holiday too, another favorite film of mine. I just love old timey things, if you can’t already tell.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Life and Death</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bede no longer sat in front of a wedding, but on a bench facing the town’s many winding trails. He looked over his shoulder and recognized the front of Opal’s house. He was sitting on her bench—the same bench where she liked to lean back and smoke a pipe. The sudden bite of chill in the air made Bede jam both hands into his pockets and pull his oversized jacket tighter around himself. Time traveling didn’t make him immune to the weather, he guessed.</p><p>“I’m glad I jumped back in time wearing this,” he told Celebi.</p><p>Bede had never been in Ballonlea Town during the colder seasons. Familiar voices drifted to his ears. He looked up to see Opal and Roger, wrapped up in long coats and thick scarves, returning from what must be their morning walk with Mightyena back to her house.</p><p>“Thank goodness for all the trees keeping the snow out,” Roger remarked as he glanced up. “It’d be such a pain to shovel that off the trails.”</p><p>“One of the many reasons I don’t miss Wynwall,” Opal replied wryly. “It would snow up to your waist, especially in the mountains you’d take to get there.”</p><p>The couple didn’t look any different from the last time Bede saw them. They had gotten married in the spring. Now it was either fall or winter—at least a few months had passed. Roger no longer lived in a makeshift room at the theatre, like a vagabond, but with his wife now. Having a home to come back to and share must make him quite a happy man.</p><p>Roger fumbled for the keys, and let Opal through first once he got the door open. Celebi flitted in behind Roger, prompting Bede to follow them inside.</p><p></p><div>
  <p>Obstagoon greeted Opal and Roger with a toothy grin and cups of steaming hot chocolate.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Just in time,” Roger exclaimed. “Thank you, my friend. That’s just what we need after a brisk walk in the cold.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal lit up the fireplace so that Mightyena could have a warm nap on the rug. Her Togekiss and Mawile hopped down from the sofa to snuggle up against Mightyena. Opal patted their heads, then joined Roger at the dinner table and accepted the hot chocolate from Obstagoon with a grateful smile.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The cozy, homey sight of people and Pokemon alike sharing a little cottage warmed up Bede from head to toe, and he forgot about how cold it was outside. His heart ached a little, too. All his life he longed for something like this. A happy family. Celebi seemed to sense how he felt. The Pokemon rested itself on his shoulder and nuzzled his hair.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger cracked open the kitchen window and offered a pack of cigarettes to Opal. “Care for a smoke, my dear?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She waved a hand at him. “Oh no, I can’t, darling. Not for a while.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“A while?” He withdrew his hand holding the pack. “How long is that?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Nine months, more or less.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal left it at that to let the weight of what she had said sink in. His eyes grew wide.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Opal, dear...are you...? You’re telling me that you’re...?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She nodded and smiled. Roger tossed the cigarettes onto the table, took her face into his hands, and pressed a passionate kiss to her lips. She threw her arms around his shoulders and returned the kiss until they broke apart, speechless and giddy for a few moments.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Finally, breathlessly, Roger said, “We’re going to be parents.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She squeezed his hands. “Yes, we are.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“No tobacco for nine months...not to mention all your favorite drinks. Will you be all right?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal made a mild grimace. “It’ll be tough, but it’ll be worth the wait.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He patted her hand. “You won’t go through it alone. I’ll quit smoking and drinking too. We’re in this together.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She pecked him on the cheek. “I appreciate the solidarity, darling.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede had been watching the exchange with mixed content and relief. “I’m so glad you didn’t make me watch them make a baby,” he said to Celebi. His cheeks grew hot. “And in case you’re wondering: yeah, I know where babies come from.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi giggled behind its light green hands.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger put away the cigarettes and sipped at his hot chocolate. “No wonder your head was in the clouds when we were walking.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal propped an elbow on the table to finger at the curls of her hair in embarrassment. “I was thinking about how to break the news to you. I was hoping to pull off something more charming and elaborate. I certainly didn’t have cigarettes in mind.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her husband smiled and shook his head. “I’d be thrilled no matter how you went about it, dear. And I’m thrilled right now. Completely over the moon.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi flew off of Bede’s shoulder and took his hands. In a quick burst of light, Bede was thrust into the crowded clamor of Ballonlea’s Gym stadium. He stood in the middle of the arena, between Opal and a young Gym challenger.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi brought him in here in time to catch the end of the match—the moment that Opal’s Alcremie fainted under a well-aimed Pyro Ball from the challenger’s Cinderace.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal flung away her parasol in wide-eyed surprise, making the crowd burst into laughter.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>A chuckle slipped past Bede’s lips. He knew that was simply part of her routine of being an entertaining Gym Leader. What he didn’t know was that it went this far back. “Some things just don’t change, huh, Celebi?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>In many a practice match with Opal, Bede was well acquainted with how painfully slow she would walk back and forth in the arena. But this time, he was befuddled as Opal quickly, almost aggressively, closed the gap between herself and the challenger in a few long strides. She shook hands with the boy, shoved the Draining Kiss TM and Fairy uniform into his hands, within seconds and with no explanation. Then she took off to the backstage, ignoring the boy’s perplexed face.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede ran after Opal. “Hey, I wonder what’s going on with her—“</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The sound of vomiting answered his question.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede rounded the corner to see Opal emptying her stomach into a trash can. Roger, who must have been waiting backstage, was rubbing soothing strokes up and down her back. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Opal, dear, perhaps you should take maternity leave,” he said gently. “This morning sickness is really doing a number on you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She slowly uprighted herself, her face pale and pinched. “Nonsense. I’ve got morning sickness in the bag. Literally.” She leaned over the trash can to vomit into it again, then went on with trembling defiance, “The day I take off from being Gym Leader is when I’m retired or dead, whichever comes first.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger grabbed wads of tissue for Opal to wipe her mouth on. “You are unbelievably stubborn.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She managed a lopsided grin at him. “Isn’t that what you love about me?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He returned her grin. “Your passion knows no bounds, dear. If you insist on having the show go on, then you have my support.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She pulled him into a hug. “Thank you, darling.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Despite the trials and tribulations of early pregnancy, Opal soldiered on with her Gym Leader duties. She could hold herself together through an entire match before running off to retch and vomit backstage, out of the public eye. There were some matches when she looked positively green, and could barely raise her voice to a shout when commanding her Pokemon. Still, Opal held her ground. She would never let the struggles of pregnancy cancel a challenge or cut it short.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede had to give Opal credit for her determination. She was such a trooper, and she expected the same out of him. Handling a Gym took grit and guts, and the young, pregnant Opal strived to make sure that she didn’t spill <em>her</em> guts in the stadium for everyone to see.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi ground the time lapse of matches to a halt as it showed Bede the newest Gym challenger fighting against Opal: a bespectacled girl barely over ten, with inquisitive green eyes and wavy red hair.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>This time Opal sported a noticeable baby bump, and her Togekiss scored a winning Ancient Power against the girl’s Corvisquire. That ended the match—and the girl’s Pokemon League dreams, Bede assumed, until he noticed that the girl didn’t look as dejected as he thought she would.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Instead of parting ways with the girl, Opal accompanied her outside the Gym stadium and down the trail that led into Glimwood Tangle.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’ll show you a good spot for Impidimp watching, as promised,” Opal said.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The girl beamed up at her. “Thank you, Ms. Opal. You didn’t have to do this.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The Gym Leader shot her a mischievous glance and a wink. “Oh, I insist. Those thieving little rascals will give you too much trouble if you don’t know what to do around them. If you want to make sure that you come away with all your belongings, you better have me around, Magnolia.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede almost stopped in mid-stride. “Magnolia? As in Professor Magnolia?” He had never met the elderly professor before, though he knew from living with Opal that she would spend many long conversations over the Rotom phone with her. And Opal mentioned doing research with her at one point. Still, to see the professor this small and young took him aback. Sometimes he forgot that old people used to be young. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>They stopped at the Pokemon Center to rest their Pokemon before entering Glimwood Tangle. Opal led the way through the gloom and maze of glowing mushrooms. She stopped to gingerly get down on her knees behind a tree stump, and Magnolia followed suit.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“There, see that pink mushroom up ahead?” Opal whispered. “That’s where the Impidimps like to gather. It’s close to the trees that are loaded with berries, so it’s a good spot for them to forage.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Perfect,” Magnolia whispered back, and she fished out a pen and notebook from her bag.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>A few feet ahead of them, a gang of Impidimps clustered around the mushroom, gleefully sorting through the berries they had collected. Bede didn’t have to worry about being seen by the Impidimps, so he lounged on a nearby fallen tree trunk.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It’s too bad about the Gym challenge,” Opal said, keeping her voice low.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Magnolia shrugged. “That’s all right,” she murmured in reply. “I’ve never had much interest in battling. It’s my dad who pushes me into Pokemon training.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Does he, now?” Opal’s gaze became distant, as if reaching into a well of memories. “My father once pushed me into something I didn’t want to do. If you ask me, I say to follow wherever your heart leads you. Don’t listen to people who want to drag it the other way.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Magnolia had been intensely scrutinizing the Impidimps, but what Opal said made her turn her head. “You really think I should do that, Ms. Opal?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The Ballonlea Gym Leader leveled a serious gaze at her. “You’re a smart, thoughtful girl, I can tell. You’d rather study Pokemon than fight with them, and that’s a perfectly fine thing to pursue. This may be hard to believe, but not everyone makes his or her way in the world by battling. Take my husband, for example. Hardly the greatest battler, in all honesty, but he’s a damn fine playwright.” Her hand flitted to her mouth. “Oops. Pardon my Kalosian.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Magnolia stifled a giggle. “I’ve heard much worse.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Have you? Oh dear.” Opal bit back a laugh of her own.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The girl adjusted her glasses and returned to studying the Impidimps, though her tone shifted to curiosity. “Speaking of your husband, have you decided with him on a name for the baby yet?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal rested a hand on her belly. “We know we’re having a boy, but names have been up in the air for the past month.” She frowned. “Nothing’s been pink enough for my taste.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Uh-oh, there she goes with pink,” Bede muttered to Celebi.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“How about Jasper?” Magnolia meekly suggested. “Your name is a gemstone, and your husband’s name is Roger, right? Jasper is another gemstone, and it sounds like Roger...He would have a mix of your names, like how children are a mix of their parents.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal sucked in a quiet gasp. “By George, yes. It’s perfect. Did you think of that just now?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Magnolia nodded, and Opal clasped her shoulder.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You might look into being a Name Rater, too, because that name’s a keeper. It’s so pink!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The girl flushed with happiness at Opal’s approval, even though Bede was quite sure that Magnolia hadn’t the slightest clue of what Opal meant by the name being “so pink,” because he sure as hell didn’t know, either. After spying on the Impidimps, Opal and Magnolia left Glimwood Tangle to rest inside the Pokemon Center.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“My family will stay in town for the next few weeks,” Magnolia said. ”This is our first time here, so we want to explore the woods, and I want to study all the Pokemon that live here.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal nodded. “In that case, I’d be more than happy to be your tour guide. When I’m not busy holding Gym challenges, anyway. Pop by the theatre if you need me.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I appreciate your offer. Thank you so much.” Magnolia checked her wristwatch. “I have to run back to the inn. Mum and Dad would want me back by now.” Then she extended a hand. “Thanks again, Ms. Opal. You’re the nicest Gym Leader I’ve ever met.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal gave her hand a hearty shake. “The pleasure’s all mine. You can drop the Ms., by the way. Just call me Opal.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The girl smiled at that. “And you can call me Mag. All my friends do.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I guess that’s how Ms. Opal and the professor became best buds,” Bede said. He wished that he could make friends just as easily.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi took his hands to bring him back inside Opal’s house, where Roger hunched over the dinner table littered with drafts of his scripts, and Opal tilted back and forth on a rocking chair in the living room, humming a song while knitting something bright pink—probably a baby blanket. Her belly had gotten a lot bigger since Bede last saw her, and her work in-progress draped over it like a tiny tablecloth.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Suddenly Opal stopped humming and froze in the rocking chair. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger looked up from the table. “What’s the matter, dear?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She smiled and shook her head. “Just Jasper kicking me.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger sighed with relief. “I thought you were going to tell me that your water broke.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh, that wouldn’t be until another month or so. Unless Jasper decides to be born early.” She set aside her knitting and the smile faded from her face. “Roger, I’ve been wondering...what if he ends up not liking me?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her husband set down the papers he’d been looking over. “This isn’t like your tricky Gym challenge questions, is it?” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede knew that her questions always had a way of throwing people off guard.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“No, it’s a serious one,” Opal assured him. Her voice softened. “You’ve never met my mother, Ruby, but she had a reputation for being an oddball. Beautiful in her youth, but still an oddball. At first, my father didn’t think much of it when he married her. But years passed, I grew up, and in my father’s eyes, her strangeness grew to outweigh her good looks. She was pulled away from a comfortable cottage life in Ballonlea, and she never adjusted to the aristocratic life in Wynwall. She hated being inside the mansion and having guests over. She’d run off to the nearby woods during parties, to play with the Fairy type Pokemon there, and my father would claim that she can’t see anyone because she’s sick in bed. She became an embarrassment to him. He couldn’t take it anymore. So he divorced her. She returned to Ballonlea without looking back, and I chose to leave with her.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>While Opal went on, Roger got up from the table and walked over to kneel beside her and take her hand. Bede guessed that Roger was hearing this for the first time, and Opal had never shared this part of her life before.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She drew in a deep breath before continuing. “As fate would have it, even the town became too much for my mother as I grew older. Just before I turned eighteen, she handed over the Gym Leader title to me and just...left. She left Ballonlea and she left me. She took only her Pokemon along to go live in the wild for the rest of her life.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry, Opal,” he murmured.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She briefly pressed the back of her other hand to her eyes. “My brothers never really liked her. They thought she was too strange. Even I have a hard time thinking fondly of her.” Her voice shook with anger she tried to restrain. “I’ve always taken her side. I defended her from my father and brothers when no one else would. I left Wynwall for her, and she repaid me by running away.” Fear filled her eyes. “History has a way of repeating itself. What if I become my mother, Roger? What if our son would grow up to hate me for that?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede wasn’t surprised that Roger didn’t answer right away. This was a lot to unpack and process.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Finally, he said, “You are not your mother, Opal, and I don’t think you’ll become your mother, either. You’ve never been the kind of person to run away from responsibility. That’s why I know you’ll always be there for Jasper. You’ll love him and raise him every step of the way. I know that you’ll be a wonderful mother.“ He rested his other hand on her belly. “And I know that our son will absolutely adore you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal blinked away her tears. “Thank you, darling. I really needed to hear that.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>With a bitter taste in his mouth, Bede wished that his own parents had this kind of talk. Then they wouldn’t have abandoned him. He snapped out of his sullen thoughts when Celebi took his hands.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The inside of Opal’s house washed away to be replaced with white, sterile halls. Bede recognized the place. He was in the Stow-On-Side hospital now. A few feet from him, Roger paced up and down the hall with both hands in his pockets and biting on his bottom lip. Opal was nowhere to be seen. But she could be heard.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She cried out from the nearby room, making Bede jump and Roger wince.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“She must be having the baby,” Bede exclaimed. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger continued to pace in a clear show of nervousness and agitation. Bede guessed that in the old days, fathers weren’t allowed in the delivery room. Roger looked like he would rush in to be there for his wife if he could. Bede stood there feeling useless, wringing the hem of his jacket. Opal always had a thin and slender body. She would have a hard time pushing a kid out, Bede thought with worry. Fortunately, Celebi had dropped him into the tail-end of the long, painstaking delivery. Minutes later, a nurse poked her head out of the room and beckoned to Roger.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Sir, you may come in.” She beamed at him. “You have a beautiful, healthy boy. And your wife is doing just fine. She’s a tough cookie.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger thanked the nurse profusely and followed her inside. Bede and Celebi also stepped into the room, and hung back to let the delivery team mill around and do their job.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Despite dark hair that clung to her sweaty face, Opal smiled through her exhaustion as she cradled the wailing bundle in her arms. Roger sank into a chair beside her so they could adore their newborn son together. Bede sidled up opposite of Roger and peered over Opal’s shoulder.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Look, Celebi, he has her eyes. The old pictures don’t show that.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi propped its arms and chin on Bede’s shoulder and smiled down at the baby.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“He’s so pink,” Opal whispered.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“And so tiny,” Roger added.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“He sure didn’t <em>feel</em> tiny.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger laughed at Opal’s wry remark and kissed her cheek. “You’ve done a marvelous job bringing him out here.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Later in the day, their Pokemon and close friends came over to congratulate the new parents. Jasper was only crying that first hour. When visitors came to see him, he was all smiles and coos.  No one was immune to his charm, which he clearly inherited from his mother. Opal held him all the while, glowing with a happiness Bede had only last seen at her wedding.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>A different kind of glow filled up the delivery room next. The light from Celebi.</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>The old photos that had gathered dust in Opal’s attic didn’t capture every moment she had shared with Jasper. Thanks to Celebi, Bede got to see just what kind of mother she used to be.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She doted on her son, had no shame or reservations about dressing him in pink, and never turned down a chance to play silly games with him. And, being the passionate Gym Leader and actress she was, Opal would often bring him to the theatre so that it became his second home. Togekiss, her most child-friendly Pokemon, was his trusty companion and designated cuddle buddy when Opal had to step up to the stage or the stadium.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Being married and having a child made her even more adamant about turning down chances to break into the film industry, like offers from even the top agents and directors. She insisted on remaining an actress for live theatre, not movies.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I enjoy a good film as much as anyone else around here,” Opal would say to anyone trying to tempt her, “but shooting them means being far away from home for weeks and months. That’s the last thing I want!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede admired Opal’s dedication to her family, town, and profession.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger made sure that he had an equal share in the parenting, rather than leaving it all to Opal. His favorite thing to do with Jasper was letting him shred up scripts he wasn’t happy about. The simple act of tearing up paper in his little hands sent the boy into hysterical fits of laughter. When Opal first saw this, she clutched at her sides and could barely catch her breath from laughing so hard.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>One day, when Jasper was old enough to string more words into coherent sentences, Roger drew him aside to whisper something in his ear.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper then waddled back to his mother, who stood before a mirror adjusting her Gym jersey, and he threw his little arms around her legs. “I love you, Mummy.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She looked down with surprise. “Jasper, darling, you just told me that a minute ago.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He detached himself from her, and his eyes were wide blue pools of innocent sincerity. “Daddy says that you should get a lot of what you like, and he says that you like it when I say ‘I love you.’”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>That made her grin widely, and she scooped up her son into her arms. “Did Daddy really say that? I don’t know if you should <em>always</em> get a lot of what you like.” She darted a raised eyebrow and a smirk at Roger as she said that. “It’s not good to have too much candy, or too much ice cream.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper pouted. “It’s not?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“No, you silly Zangoose.” Opal pretended to scold him with a tickle on his belly, making him squirm and giggle. She grimaced. “By George, you’re such a big boy already. You’re going to give Mummy a backache.” She gently set him down and rubbed at her back. “Run along, now, darling. I have a match coming up soon. Cheer with your daddy for me.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Before running back to Roger, Jasper hugged her again. “I love you, Mummy.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede didn’t forget Opal admitting her fears to Roger not too long ago, and Jasper assuring her of his unconditional affection was touching to see.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Not surprisingly, it was the Gym challenge that held the boy’s attention the most. He was his mother’s biggest cheerleader.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Everyone working at the theatre called Jasper a little Gym Leader in the making. Then it hit Bede like a Giga Impact. Opal had wanted her son to take over the Ballonlea Gym after her. Jasper was supposed to be her successor, not Bede. He seemed perfect for the role, too—all decked out in pink without protest, cute, charming, and beloved by everyone and every Fairy type Pokemon in the Gym. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Then Bede felt ashamed and silly for being jealous of a toddler. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he ever admitted that to Opal in the present day. He decided that was something better left unsaid.</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal’s idyllic life was interrupted with an unexpected phone call at home. Back then, she kept one of those old-timey phones that sat on a black box, with numbers arranged in a circle. Definitely not a Rotom phone. Opal was still laughing at something silly Jasper did over the dinner table when she picked up.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Hello, this is Opal Roy. Who’s calling?” She stiffened and her eyes widened. “Randy?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>At the mention of that name, Roger tried to shush Jasper with a finger over his lips. The boy pressed both hands over his mouth. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal pressed the receiver closer to her face. She listened intently to the other end, her brow knitting together and lips drawn to a thin line. Finally, she sighed and said, “All right. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She hung up and ran a hand through her hair.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“That was your brother Randall, wasn’t it?” Roger asked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes.” Opal sank slowly into her chair at the dinner table. “He just called to tell me that my father had a stroke.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger’s voice was hushed. “Oh, Opal. I’m so sorry.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“He’s been in a coma for three hours now. He just made it out of surgery.” She paused before going on, “I know this is on such short notice, but would you and Jasper come with me to Wynwall?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger reached over to take her hand. “You don’t have to ask me twice. Of course I’ll come.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper looked between his mother and father. “Are we going somewhere?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal managed a small smile at him. “Yes, darling. We’re going to see your grandpa and your uncle Randy.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper threw up his little hands. “Yay!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>When deciding how to get to Wynwall from Ballonlea, Opal refused to take the new Flying Taxi service. And, apparently discouraged from her accidental fall years ago, she also didn’t want to ride on a Rapidash. They settled for a car and a chauffeur making a round trip from her family’s estate. The car was classy and spacious enough for Bede to squeeze in comfortably and spend the trip eavesdropping on Opal and Roger, who were more free to hold a serious conversation with their son napping between them.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“In all other circumstances, I wouldn’t have brought you along to Wynwall, especially to meet my father,” Opal said. “He wouldn’t have approved our marriage at all if I had told him.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger frowned. “You’ve told me before how elitist he was. Randall came to our wedding, though.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal smiled at that. “Randall doesn’t mind you. He’s a good fellow. I trusted him not to tell our father about me marrying you, and so far he kept his word.” She smoothed back Jasper’s curly dark hair. “Besides, he hasn’t met our son yet. I’d love for the two to meet.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger chuckled. “I remember him teasing us about children at the reception. He would be thrilled to have a nephew now.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal looked up at Bede’s direction, where he was sitting across from her, but of course, she couldn’t see him. Instead, she seemed to fix a hardened gaze past his face. “If I may be brutally honest, Roger, I’m not going to Wynwall not so much because of my father, but because I want to support Randall.” She shook her head. “I can’t forgive my father for treating my mother the way he did. I just can’t. Randall’s quite fond of him, though. The news of the stroke must have devastated my brother. He’s inheriting the estate, after all, so it’s a lot for him to handle. I don’t want him to go through this alone. And...” She slipped an arm around Roger. “I didn’t want to come alone. So thank you for being by my side.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He kissed the top of her head in response. “If I may be honest, I’m pretty nervous about driving up there. I would be way out of my element. I’m a peasant compared to your family.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She squeezed his hand, and said softly, “Remember what I’ve taught you. And if it’s any comfort to you, my father will have no idea that you’ll be visiting. I doubt that he’ll wake up again.”</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede’s jaw dropped as much as biology could allow. “I-I mean, I saw the pictures, but I had no idea the place was <em>this</em> big.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The mansion of the Roy family, and the gardens surrounding it, could easily fit two Gym stadiums. A stylized male Pyroar, reared on its hindpaws and mouth gaped open in a roar, showed up on every rippling flag and banner. Bede guessed that was the family crest, coat of arms, or whatever it was called. It took a whole two minutes just to get through the driveway, and along the way they passed by a showcase of topiaries and fountains. Jasper insisted on having the tinted window rolled down so he could get a better view. Celebi took the chance to fly out of the car and flit around the gardens.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>A long line of servants—the housekeeper, the footmen, all sorts of maids—stood to attention at the entrance of the mansion. When the car drove up, a footman opened the door for Opal’s family to climb out. Bede darted out before the footman shut the door in his face. Celebi rejoined him by settling onto the top of his head. The servants bowed or curtsied before Opal and her family. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I really am in another time,” Bede said in awe. “An older time.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal nodded at the servants while Roger merely stared back, unused to such treatment, and Jasper grinned and wildly waved his hand at them.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>One of the maids couldn’t keep a straight face, her lips pursed in visible effort to contain a smile. The housekeeper shot a stern glance at the maid before she could wave back at Jasper.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Fighting back an amused grin of her own, Opal dismissed the servants and let them file back inside the mansion.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Inside the grand, ornate foyer, an elderly gentleman greeted Opal and Roger with a bow.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal smiled at him. “Winston, it has been far too long.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Indeed, it has. Welcome back to Wynwall, ma’am.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper waved at the man. “Hi, are you my grandpa?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede couldn’t decide who looked more taken aback and alarmed: Opal or Winston.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“No, darling, this is the butler. Grandpa’s inside. We’ll see him soon.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>That didn’t dim Jasper’s sunny disposition. “Do you live here, Mister Butler? This is a big, big house. You must be living here, too!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal clicked her tongue at her son and drew him away. “Jasper, please don’t bother him. Let the poor man do his job. It’s rude to ask questions like that. And yes, he lives here.” She shot an apologetic look at the butler. “I’m sorry, my son wasn’t raised on proper etiquette. We came here on such short notice.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Winston nodded. “Perfectly understandable, ma’am. And, if I may add, your son is not a bother at all. I am delighted to make his acquaintance.” He gave the boy the briefest of smiles before assuming the dignified demeanor that his job demanded.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Winston moved over to Roger and offered his gloved hands. “May I have your coat, sir?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh, that’s all right, I could take it off myself—“</p>
</div><div>
  <p>At a look from Opal, Roger awkwardly fell silent and let Winston remove and hang his trench coat. Opal, clearly used to the way and order of things in a house with servants, let Winston remove her coat, and she graciously nodded her thanks.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I will let the master know that you are here,” Winston said before taking the winding stairs up to the second floor.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Once the butler was out of earshot, Roger asked, “Did he mean your father or your brother?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“My brother,” Opal replied. “He’s the master of the house now.” She shot her husband a small smile. “Although I’d argue that Winston is the real master of it. He had been serving this family since my father was young, long before my brothers and I were born. Last time I saw him, I was ten years old.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Approaching footsteps from above cut their conversation short. From the little balcony joining the two sides of stairs, a dark-haired young man in his late twenties, around Opal’s age, peered down.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Opal? You came sooner than I expected!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Hello, Randy,” she said. “We had an excellent chauffeur.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall Roy, Opal’s twin brother, quickly descended the stairs to give her a warm hug. “Oh, Opal, it’s so good to see you. I want to swing you around and around, but I won’t because of your bad back.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She gave him a cheeky grin. “If I was strong enough to lift you up, I would do the same.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Up close, Bede spotted shadows under Randall’s blue eyes. Being clean and well-dressed couldn’t hide the toll the family emergency had taken on Opal’s brother. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>A Pyroar and a Boltund had accompanied Randall down the stairs, and they stood beside him without leashes in quiet, well-trained obedience. Bede recognized the same Pyroar from the old family portrait, and the Yamper back then obviously evolved into a Boltund.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The sight of the two Pokemon instantly caught Jasper’s attention. He loved meeting new Pokemon. It was his delighted laugh that made Randall acknowledge him. “Why, hello, little man. You must be Jasper.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper beamed at him. “Hi, Uncle Randy.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“How old are you, now?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The boy thrust out an outstretched hand with full confidence.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall gasped. “Five? You’re tall for a five year-old.” He shot a glance between Jasper and Roger. “You must get that from your dad.” Then he straightened up and shook Roger’s hand. “It’s nice to see you again, though I wish it was under better circumstances.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Likewise,” Roger replied.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The smile faded from Randall’s face and he gestured to the second floor with his thumb. “The hospital moved all the life support equipment up here. Father would rather be at home than the hospice. I’ll take you to him.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He led Opal’s family upstairs. Bede followed them to be blown away by more displays of upper class grandeur: pictures of valuable art, upright suits of armor, and rows upon rows of rooms. Opal’s attempt to steel herself for the sight was noticeable, and Roger reached out to link his arm with hers.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Unlike the halls lit by many chandeliers, Sir Lionel’s room was dim and gloomy. Only monitors and a single lamp kept the room from being submerged in complete darkness. The hiss of the ventilator was the sound dominating the room. Bede peered in and could barely recognize the stern, imposing man in the family portrait. He wore no dark suit, but a gown as white as the bed and blankets that enveloped him.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal approached his bedside, staring down at his prone, still form, but didn’t reach out to touch him.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her voice could barely be heard over the beeping machines. “He used to scare me. Now, seeing him like this, so vulnerable...it’s hard to believe.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall didn’t appear to hear her, but Bede felt that her comment wasn’t meant to be heard.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper, who was being carried in Roger’s arms, stared down in confusion at his grandfather. “Why is Grandpa’s bed so noisy? Is he going to wake up?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“We...we don’t know when he’ll wake up, darling,” Opal finally said. “He will probably be sleeping for a long time.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Everyone fell silent for a several moments. Then Randall gestured with a jerk to his head to the glass doors leading outside. “Roger, is it all right if I borrow Opal for a few minutes?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Of course. I’ll watch over Jasper in the mean time.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall turned next to his sister. “Would you like to join me for a walk and a smoke?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, please.” Opal accompanied Randall to the balcony outside. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede realized that the balcony was what connected every room of the floor. That made for a nice, breezy walk around the mansion. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Being a gentleman, Randall provided the pack and lighter, and lit Opal’s cigarette before his own.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal wrinkled her nose, though not from the cigarette that just lit up. “Our home has turned into a hospital, and I hate hospitals.” She took in a long, deep puff, and let it out with an audible sigh of content. “Ah, that’s the stuff. It’s been years since I last smoked one of these. I pretty much quit smoking after Jasper was born.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall chuckled. “Why do you think I don’t have kids yet?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal angled her head at him. “You don’t want kids? How come you kept nagging me and Roger to have them at our wedding?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Smoke billowed out with his laugh. “Because it’s better to have nieces and nephews than kids of my own. Sure, I’ll play with them when they’re being cute and cuddly, but when they cry and need a diaper change, time to hand them over to my big sister. Not my problem!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. “You’re insufferable.” Her playful grin didn’t last. “So what did you want to talk to me about, Randy?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He sighed and propped his elbows over the rail to stare down at the garden. “I didn’t want to say it when Jasper was inside, but...Dad doesn’t have much longer to live. Exactly how long, the doctors don’t know. Could be hours. Could be days. However long it takes...after that, I’m in charge of the estate. Pyroar already considers me his owner now.” Randall reached down to stroke Pyroar’s large, fiery-colored mane.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal fidgeted with the cigarette in her fingers. “When I was pregnant with Jasper, Roger told me that I wasn’t the type of person to run away from my responsibilities.” She looked up at her brother, the guilt clear in her voice, and, Bede realized later, in the way she toyed with the cigarette. “What I didn’t get to tell him was that he was wrong. I <em>did</em> run away. I’m the oldest child. I was supposed to inherit the family estate. Instead, I gave it up to leave Wynwall with Mum. I don’t feel bad for leaving. I feel bad for dumping the burden on you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall shrugged and resumed walking along the balcony. “Don’t feel bad, Opal. I think it worked out for the better. Your talents are in battling and acting. Me? I have an eye for business and philanthropy, like our partners, the Rose family. Must’ve gotten that from Dad. And Kes? He had more talent than the both of us put together, but he flushed all that down the drain.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal kept pace with him. “Speaking of Kes, any word from him yet?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“No. None.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She blew out smoke with her sigh and shook her head.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall shared her resigned exasperation. “I’ve been trying to reach him over ten times now. I tried calling all the bars and casinos where he would be. I got nothing.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Well, at least you tried.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“And Mum? Any word from her ever since she...you know...”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal shook her head again, her eyes downcast and the cigarette pinched tightly between her lips.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall clenched a fist to his side. “I wanted all of us to be here, so we could decide as a family about when to take Dad off the life support.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal put a hand on her twin brother’s shoulder. “The two of us will have to do,” she said gently. “Kes and Mum aren’t coming.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall’s shoulders shook. “Thank you for being here, Opal. That means so much to me, even when I know you’re not really here for Dad.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal drew him into a hug. “It’s true, I didn’t like the way he treated Mum, but he wasn’t all bad. He taught you so much about being your own man. You’re ready for the role you have to take, thanks to him.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall still trembled in her embrace. “The doctors say that the machines are doing all the breathing and feeding for him. There’s almost zero chance that he’ll be back to the way he was. There’s no use in letting those machines go on any longer. I think the time to let him go is now. What do you think?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’m with you, Randy,” she replied. “I think we’re making the right call.” Her free hand took his. “Come on, we’ll talk to the doctors together.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede had overheard the entire conversation with a heavy heart. He wouldn’t know what to do in their position. He never had to make such a difficult decision.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede had never met Opal’s father, and even now didn’t really meet him since he wasn’t conscious, so he felt nothing towards the man who took his last breath a few hours later. He did, however, think about how the Opal waiting for him in the present was up there in age. She didn’t have that much longer to live. To spend time with him. Her very life depended on him being ready to take over as Ballonlea’s Gym Leader. Bede folded his arms to clutch at the crooks of his sleeves.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He feared for himself, and he feared for Opal.</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Musical inspiration for this chapter (the Wynwall scenes, specifically): “Succession Main Theme” and “Allegro in C Minor” from the HBO show Succession.</p><p>I almost split this chapter in two because it got long, but I kept it intact to show the contrast between birth and death in young Opal’s life. There will be more familiar faces like Magnolia later. As for who they are, you’ll just have to read and find out.</p><p>A dose of history: if we consider 2020 to be the present, Opal is considered to be part of the Silent Generation (born between 1928 and 1945, before the Boomers). The Silents are called that because in response to their parents undergoing the Great Depression, they kept their heads down and worked hard to conform and contribute to society. That’s why Opal is so dedicated and disciplined as a Gym Leader. But she also took a big risk in turning down aristocratic stability and moving down the social ladder to be a Gym Leader and an actress. So she both follows and defies Silent Generation characteristics. The Silents married and had families young, hence Opal marrying Roger and having Jasper at like, 21. Also, back then, people smoked like crazy. It had an elegant image, too, before the truthbomb about how it’s a disaster on your health became public knowledge (don’t smoke, guys!). That’s why Opal and her family smoking is a thing here. Yeah...I’m probably putting in more thought than what’s necessary for a Pokemon fic, right?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. One Fell Swoop</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bede thought that he would have to sit through a funeral next, but Celebi took him back to Ballonlea Town instead, specifically back inside Opal’s house. Bede was able to figure out how much time passed by noticing the calendar pinned up on the kitchen wall. He jumped a week ahead.</p><p>Life seemed to return to normal very quickly for Opal’s family. She was reading and acting out a bedtime story to Jasper—<em>The</em> <em>Three Little Tepigs</em>, by the sound of it—while Roger was editing a script on the dinner table. Several loud raps at the front door startled the three. Jasper stopped giggling at his mother’s impression of the Big Bad Lycanroc and clung to her nightgown. No one moved, but the knocking persisted.</p><p>Opal frowned. “Who on earth could be banging on the door this late at night?”</p><p>“I’ll get it, my dear.” Roger ran up to the door. Mightyena and Obstagoon quickly joined their Trainer’s side, ready to defend the family from a dangerous, unwanted visitor. Roger cracked open the door, and an inquisitive male voice slipped through the crack.</p><p>“Hello, is this Opal’s house?”</p><p></p><div>
  <p>Roger neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead he asked tersely, “Who are you? What do you want? It’s late.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I know, I’m sorry. I just flew in from Unova. I’m Kestrel Roy, Opal’s younger brother.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>That prompted Opal to shut the book, gently detach herself from her son’s grip, and leave his bedside to join her husband at the door. “Kes? Is that really you?” She scrutinized the man with narrowed eyes, then she gasped. “It <em>is</em> you.” She opened the door wider. “Come in. You look exhausted.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel didn’t come alone. He came with his Pokemon. A Corviknight, a Staraptor, and a Pidgeot followed him into the house, their heads hung low and feathers ruffled in apparent fatigue.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Like his siblings, Kestrel had curly dark hair and blue eyes, but he had a stubble while Randall was clean-shaven. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal quieted down the tide of curious questions from Jasper and had Roger send him to bed, so that only she and Kestrel occupied the kitchen. Not counting Bede and Celebi, of course. Opal made tea for her brother and fed his three bird Pokemon. Her hospitality, however, ended there.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Dad died last week. Where were you?” She snapped.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel shrank in his seat at the dinner table. “I had no idea until I heard about Dad from the international news. I flew back here with my Pokemon as fast as I could.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, well, flying overseas still makes ‘fast’ a long time.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>His face sank at her barbed reply. “I’m so sorry, Opal.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to Randy.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I tried going to him first. He didn’t want to talk to me.” Kestrel’s downcast gaze settled on his cup of tea. “Pyroar and Boltund wouldn’t let me near him. They almost bit my hands off. I wasn’t allowed inside the very house I grew up in.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I could excuse you for not coming to my wedding. I can’t excuse you for being a no-show when Randy called for you. You weren’t there when he needed you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel squeezed his eyes shut. “I know, I’m sorry. I’ve been terrible.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Terrible is a bit of an understatement.” Opal drew in a deep breath before going on, “First you wasted family money on throwing huge parties at the mansion, whenever Dad went out of town for business. Then you went hopping to every bar and casino in sight, from job to job, wasting your own money on drinks and women. Then you dropped off the radar, went hopping from region to region, and none of us had heard anything from you since.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel’s fingers went white over the sides of the teacup. “You don’t have to remind me on how much of a screwup I’ve been,” he said in a strained voice. “I think about that every day.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal spared no pity for her brother in what must have been years worth of frustration and anger, all packed into seconds now. Her stern harshness took Bede aback.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She wouldn’t meet Kestrel’s eyes. She kept her gaze fixed to the tile floor, while he pinned pleading eyes on her, pleading for her to look back at him.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’ve tried really hard to patch my life back together,” he said. “I took up Pokemon battling again and saved up enough for therapy. I’ve been sober for three years. I haven’t spent a coin since the Mauville Game Corner in Hoenn shut down five years ago.” A tinge of pride slipped into his voice. ”I’ve been killing it in Unova, Opal. My Pokemon team and I were good enough to challenge the Elite Four.” Dismay then drained what little pride he had showed. “I dropped out of the challenge when I heard about Dad. I came back here as soon as I could. Please, Opal. Please don’t kick me out like Randy did. You two are all I have left.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal’s eyes softened, and finally she tipped up her chin at him. “I’m glad you came back, Kes,” she murmured. “This is the first time in a while that I don’t smell alcohol on you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Emboldened by the slightest hint of forgiveness, Kestrel made a resolute fist on the tabletop. “I want to make things right. Please let me stay here for a bit. At least until I can find a job.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal paused to consider—probably remembering how Roger had been in nearly the same position when they had met. She even glanced at where he must be now, behind the bedroom door. Then she said, “All right. You can stay. But you had better get back on your feet soon.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Thanks so much, Opal. I won’t let you down.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She didn’t smile and nod in reassurance at that. Her blank expression implied skepticism, as if Kestrel had let her down too many times already. But she made no comment about that. Instead she said, “Dad was really proud of you, you know. He would be thrilled to hear that you were going to take on the Elite Four.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel’s eyes grew wet with tears. “I know.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal closed the gap between them to rest a hand on his shoulder, letting him weep and properly grieve since he returned to Galar. They shared a period of somber silence, then Kestrel broke it.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You’re married and you have a kid now...I can’t believe it. I’ve really been missing out.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>That made her smile at him for the first time since he arrived. “I’ll introduce you to them tomorrow.”</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>The next morning, Roger left for the theatre early to manage rehearsal of the play he wrote, and Jasper barely ate his cereal as he ogled at Kestrel over the dinner table. Finally, he looked over at Opal to say, “You never told me that I had another uncle, Mummy.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Despite his innocent remark without accusation, she averted her gaze. “I wasn’t sure if he was ever going to come back home, darling.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel saved his sister from her awkward guilt as he grinned at his nephew. “Well, I’m here now. Say, Jasper, have you ever wanted to fly?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The boy gasped and nodded.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Let’s take a ride around town with my Pokemon, shall we?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yay!” Jasper jumped out of his chair and was a hyperactive ball of excitement as he followed Kestrel out of the house. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal trailed behind with alarm and less enthusiasm. “You’re doing what, now? Wait just a minute.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel already led Jasper out by the hand to the front yard. He gestured to his bird Pokemon assembled outside. “Staraptor is too small for the two of us to fit on his back, so you’ll have to choose between Corviknight and Pidgeot. Which will it be?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I want to ride that one!” Jasper pointed at Corviknight.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal raised her voice now. “Oh no, you don’t. Absolutely not.” She looked aghast at Kestrel. “My son’s not getting on that thing.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It’ll be fine, Opal. Corviknight is as stout and sturdy as any good Steel type Pokemon.” Kestrel rapped his knuckles on the Pokemon’s solid-sounding chest.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel chuckled. “Oh, right. That’s the Gym Leader in you talking, Opal.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She didn’t return his amusement. “Jasper is not going on that Corviknight. Period.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede knew that Opal wasn’t fond of Corviknights. They tended to give her Fairy type Pokemon the greatest challenge and hardest time during Gym matches, and it didn’t help that they were hulking, mean-looking bird Pokemon. Apparently her dislike of them went way back. And apparently, Kestrel’s Corviknight didn’t appreciate being called a “thing,” as it stared her down with intense red eyes.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper pouted, and Kestrel said, “How about Pidgeot, then?” He smoothed back its long yellow and red plumage. “See all the harnesses? I’d strap in for a flight and I’m perfectly safe every time. I’ve flown overseas with her, and I survived.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Hands propped on her hips, Opal sized up the Pidgeot with no-nonsense scrutiny. “That’s a bit better than your Corviknight, I suppose,” she admitted.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Give me the chance to be a good uncle,” Kestrel pleaded. “I just want Jasper to have a bit of fun. I’ll keep my eye on him at all times. No fancy tricks like nosedives and loop-the-loops. I won’t let your boy fall, I swear.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper tugged at Opal’s long black skirt. “Please, Mummy, I want to fly with Uncle Kes.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal looked between her younger brother and only child for several moments, then she let her hands fall from her hips in resignation. “Oh, all right.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel and Jasper beamed and shared a high five.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“But don’t fly over the treetops so I can still see you,” she added. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper threw himself into a hug around her legs. “I love you, Mummy!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She folded arms across her chest and allowed a small smile as Kestrel lifted Jasper onto his Pidgeot and strapped him into place.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>At Kestrel’s command, the Pokemon gently took off into the air. Jasper’s delighted laughter could be heard even above the sound of Pidgeot’s beating wings. Opal craned her neck back, keeping her sights trained on them, and the small smile grew into a wide grin.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Later that day, Kestrel treated Jasper to ice cream. Roger finished rehearsal to join the rest of the family on a stroll to the Stow-On-Side end of Glimwood Tangle, so they could catch the famous Stow-On-Side sunset. Kestrel and Roger spent that stroll getting acquainted, sharing many stories on their roaming adventures across many regions.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Unbeknownst to the family, Bede had been taking the stroll with them. It was clear to him that Kestrel adored his nephew. They had been chatting nonstop since morning.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Do you want any brothers or sisters, Jasper?” Kestrel asked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Lots!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel’s dark eyebrows shot up. “Lots? Wow, you want a big family, huh?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Uh-huh.” Jasper had thrown his hands wide in response to Kestrel’s question, to show him just how many brothers and sisters he wanted.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“And what do your mum and dad have to say about that?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal’s cheeks took on a bright shade of pink that Bede could see even during a sunset. “Roger and I have been trying for a second.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel beamed. “Are you? That’s great.” He winked at the couple. “Keep up the good work.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Finally tired from running and jumping around and spending all his ice cream-fueled energy, Jasper flopped onto Opal’s lap. “Mummy, can Uncle Kes stay with us forever?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She smoothed out the sweaty tangles in his hair with her fingers, and her answer came out carefully worded. “Well, darling, that depends on what kind of job he can get. His job might take him somewhere else.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper’s little face sank. “I don’t want him to go.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel reached out to pat his head. “I’ll try to get a job that lets me see you a lot. I think I might have an idea of where to look.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You do? Sounds promising,” Opal remarked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I want a fixed salary, but I don’t want to give up my sense of adventure. I think I’ve found a job that perfectly combines both.” As Kestrel said this, only Bede noticed that he glanced at his Corviknight roosting nearby.</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Time traveling with Celebi, and becoming a passive observer of the past, Bede found that he noticed all sorts of things he wouldn’t have when living in the present moment.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>For example, he noticed that over the past few days since Kestrel’s arrival, Opal had been hiding all the alcohol in the house, locking them away with a key only she kept with her at all times. She even stopped by the Dancing Impidimp to warn the manager about Kestrel, to keep him from drinking the town’s only bar dry.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Kestrel’s drinking problem must have been pretty bad,” Bede remarked to Celebi. His own parents didn’t have that problem, but he knew plenty of other boys and girls in the orphanage whose parents were too drunk to even function and take care of their own kids. Bede snuck in a sip of beer once on a dare and hated it. He couldn’t understand how adults could not only chug down mugs full of that stuff, but get addicted to it. There was a lot about the world that he didn’t understand.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Oddly enough, Kestrel never asked for a drink since he stayed with his sister, so she never had to tell him that he couldn’t have any. Instead, all of his attention was on Jasper—playing with him, talking to him, making him smile and laugh. The rides on his Pidgeot became routine. The boy seemed to be a bright ball of sunshine that Kestrel desperately needed in his life.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal noticed, of course. After many occasions of monitoring her son’s escapades with Kestrel on his Pidgeot, she became less uptight and protective. Since her father’s death, she had been talking more to Randall over the phone, checking in on him to make sure that business in Wynwall was going smoothly, and always, at the end, talk about Kestrel.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Listen, Randy, I really think that Kes has turned over a new leaf,” Opal murmured into the phone late one night. “You’ve heard enough about how much fun he’s having with Jasper. I think it’s time you see that for yourself. Will you let him come up to Wynwall again?” She paused for Randall’s response, which Bede couldn’t hear, but the man on the other end must have said yes, because Opal smiled. “Wonderful. He’ll be thrilled to hear it.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The next day, she broke the news to Kestrel over breakfast. “So, Kes, I convinced Randy to let you come up and visit him,” she said brightly. “How’s that for a good start to your day?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel blinked in disbelief, then he grinned. “Th-that’s great. Actually, I’ve got news for you, too. I wanted to surprise you after breakfast.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal raised her dark eyebrows, draining her cup of morning tea in a single go instead of sipping at it. “Sounds like good news,” she said after dabbing her mouth with a napkin. “I better see what that is.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel led her family to the front yard, then let out a whistle. A Corviknight descended through the treetops, gripping a dark carriage in its talons. Under the Corviknight’s careful flying, the carriage settled onto the ground with a soft thud instead of a crash.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper let out a long “oooh.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“A Flying Taxi,” Roger exclaimed. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal blinked many times in disbelief. “Isn’t that <em>your</em> Corviknight, Kes?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her brother beamed at them. “It is. I got a job as a cabbie!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her mouth dropped open. “Kes, that’s...that’s marvelous. It suits you and your Pokemon.” Then she grinned. “And I believe it pays well to boot. Good job, Kes.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He winked. “I got hired weeks ago. It was hard keeping my training a secret. I wanted to surprise you once I became a full-fledged cabbie. And to top it off, I owe Randy a visit.” He rested a hand on the carriage, then his face lit up like the anglers of a Chinchou. “Hey, it’s not a proper family reunion without all of us there. Let’s go together. I’ll give you a ride—free of charge, of course—right on my Corviknight!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>That proposal dampened Opal’s celebratory mood in an instant. “Kes, I’ve already made arrangements for a chauffeur to drive us to Wynwall.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Call Randy to cancel it,” Kestrel replied with a wave of his hand. “Take a Flying Taxi instead. It’s so much better for the environment. You know how much gas you put into the air with a car?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>”No, I don’t. Still, I’d rather take the car.” Opal frowned up at the carriage, and at Kestrel’s Corviknight perched on top. “Maybe other people are willing to take the risk, but I wouldn’t. This Flying Taxi service is still so new. It doesn’t look very safe.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’ve been to Motostoke, Circhester, Spikemuth, and back with no problem,” Kestrel replied, unfazed by his sister’s doubts. “I picked up and dropped off every passenger in one piece. Everyone got where they needed to be just fine, and so will you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’m interested in hitching a ride,” Roger said.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal shot her husband a shocked, wide-eyed look. “You’re taking his side?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It might not be so bad as you’re making it out to be, dear.” He kept his tone reasonable and gentle, in an attempt to smooth down Opal’s ruffled feathers. “We’ve seen for ourselves how much Kestrel has been taking Jasper around on his Pidgeot, and he was just fine every time. I trust your brother. Don’t you, Opal?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Well, I want to, but...” She trailed off as she eyed the carriage like it was a bomb about to go off any second.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel walked up to her and took her hands into his. “Come on, Opal, let me prove to you again that I can make things right. We’ll make it to Wynwall and back, then I’ll be out of your hair and your house with this job.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She sighed and gently pulled her hands away. “I...I’ll think about it. Give me a day.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Okay, Opal. But I’m counting on that yes.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede peered closer at the carriage. The Flying Taxi back then didn’t look the same as the one he knew in his time. Besides the more antiquated design, this one was a lot bigger, with just enough room for two adults and a small child. The Flying Taxi he was familiar with seated just one passenger.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal later went about her Gym Leader duties being quite distracted as she mulled over the decision. Jasper asked her every five minutes if they could all take a ride with Uncle Kes and his Corviknight.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The next day, Opal caved in and agreed to have Kestrel fly her family to Wynwall. But not without being extremely cautious and wary in the process.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She hiked up her skirt with both hands and gingerly climbed into the carriage after Jasper. “This thing has seat belts, doesn’t it?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Of course,” Kestrel replied, cutting a smart figure in his cabbie jacket and fur cap with ear flaps. “Wouldn’t want you to go flying off on the way.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She tensed, and he quickly added, “I’m just joking. Come on, Opal, don’t bail out on me now.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’m not. I just really want to make sure that this is safe.” She tugged at the seat belt across her chest for good measure.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Sitting by the other window, Roger took her hand and squeezed it. “Don’t be such a Worry Wartortle. We’ll be fine.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>His touch calmed her down a bit. Between his parents, Jasper wiggled in his seat with barely contained excitement. Kestrel shut the doors tight, and the carriage squeaked under his weight as he climbed over its back to mount Corviknight. He took a long swig of the large canteen strapped to his hip, then tucked it under the flap of his jacket.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Off to Wynwall we go,” he called. “Off to see Randy!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Corviknight signaled its launch with a loud caw, and whipped up a cloud of dust as it beat its wings. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede stared after the ascending carriage, rooted to the ground. “Are we supposed to follow them?” He asked Celebi. “There wasn’t enough room in the taxi for me.” Then a blue glow formed around the outline of his body, startling him.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi lifted its arms, lifting Bede off the ground by telekinesis. He yelped and kicked his legs in the air several times before he uprighted and steadied himself. Celebi giggled, and with its kind wide eyes seemed to say, “Don’t worry, let me handle all the work.” Bede tried to imitate Celebi’s pose by keeping his arms and legs outstretched, and thanks to its psychic powers, he glided along effortlessly with it. Celebi and Bede closed the gap between themselves and the Flying Taxi, soaring up with it over the treetops and towards a cloudless sky.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Heart pounding and blood rushing through him like a Hydro Pump, Bede couldn’t resist smiling and letting out a whoop. He was level with Opal’s family in the carriage now, and he could catch a glimpse of their reactions through the glass windows.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper laughed, held up both hands high, and let out a long “wheee!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal was even paler than her usual pale, tense in her seat and with her eyes squeezed shut, refusing to look up or down.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger was a mix between the two, torn between wonder and nervousness as he put an arm around Jasper to both join in the laughter and keep his son away from the windows.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Look, Mummy, we’re flying so high!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her voice quivered as she attempted to reply, “I don’t think I’d like to take a look, Jasper, darling.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The trees and the famous Ballonlea mushrooms dwindled to a size that Bede could pretend to pinch between his fingers, and at that point, Kestrel’s Corviknight didn’t climb any farther and shifted to flying in a straight course over the sprawling Galarian landscape.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“The worst part’s over,” Kestrel called from above. “It’s smooth sailing from here. You can open your eyes now, Opal.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She blinked them open, and after several seconds, she let out the breath she’d been holding. “Oh, that’s much better. I don’t think I mind this.” Then she smirked and called out so Kestrel could hear over the wind, “How did you know that I had my eyes closed?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You’re my sister,” he replied with a laugh. “Of course I would know you well.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal further relaxed in her seat, enjoying the bird’s eye view of a clear sky for the first time.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel guided his Corviknight towards the mountains that surrounded Route 10. Opal and her family had come prepared with coats and scarves for the flight through chilly alpine air. Gray overcast clouds quickly overtook the blue sky above them. Opal was fitting the scarf she had knitted tighter around Jasper’s neck when the carriage shook. One of her hands flew for the grip on the door.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger placed a comforting grip on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’s just turbulence.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She leaned toward his embrace, edging as far away from the window as she could.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Despite Roger’s attempt to assure her, the turbulence didn’t let up. Instead, the updraft continued to shake the carriage to the point of buffeting it back and forth.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Is it supposed to be this windy?” Opal called out.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>A flurry of snow assaulted the carriage along with the wind. Bede squinted, trying to make out the Flying Taxi ahead of him and Celebi, despite the snow not getting into his eyes. A full-blown snowstorm soon descended upon them.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Though Kestrel’s Corviknight kept an iron grip on the carriage, it suddenly dipped several feet for one horrifying second. Bede’s heart dropped with them. Startled cries came from the carriage and Kestrel uttered a swear. Bede caught a glimpse of Opal and Roger clutching at each other, with Jasper squeezed in between them and crying. He peered closer at the man steering his Corviknight to notice that he was doing a poor job of it. Kestrel scrambled for control, red-faced and angling his body this way and that on the saddle in attempt to direct his Pokemon to the way out of the storm. Corviknight pumped its wings furiously against the gale, squawking in mingled exertion and confusion.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The direction Kestrel ended up choosing didn’t pull them away from the chaos. Instead they dove even deeper into it. A surging current of wind suddenly overtook Corviknight from its right, a current so powerful that it wrenched off the Pokemon’s hold on the carriage. Kestrel and his Corviknight flew into a tumbling downward spiral while the carriage plummeted straight to earth. The Flying Taxi, now a falling one, struck the side of a mountain first. And again, and again, and again. Each time a sickening, metallic crunch. Bede’s stomach turned at each impact.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>On the third one, Bede saw Opal get hurtled through the glass window headfirst. She sprawled into the snow, while the carriage flew in a long arc ahead of her. It struck a boulder in a great rend of caved in metal and shattered glass.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal stirred with a groan Bede almost couldn’t hear amid the wind. She lifted her face from the snow. Small shards of glass had cut bright red gashes through her cheeks, forehead, and chin. She curled her hands into fists, pushing herself off the snow. Or tried to. She fell back onto her stomach and blood trickled down her lip as she cried out in pain. Her left hand could make a fist, but her right remained open and trembling in the frigid, snowy air.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede choked back a gasp of horror. A huge long shard of glass, sharp on both ends, had run through her right palm. Blood almost formed a sort of glove over her hand. He knew, from many years later, exactly what kind of scar it would leave. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Corviknight had crashed nearby. Its hard, lustrous feathers served well. The Pokemon unfurled itself to reveal that it had protected Kestrel from the brunt of the fall. He staggered to the mangled carriage and peered through the broken window. His face was ashen as he drew back.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Another cry of pain from Opal alerted him of her presence. “Stay where you are,” he called. “Don’t come over here.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Kes,” she groaned. “Roger, Jasper, where are they? Are they okay?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Stay put, Opal,” he said, and his voice shook. “I’ll get help.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She gritted red teeth and drove her left fist down into the snow. “Damn it, Kes, tell me if they’re okay.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>His face was drawn in tight as he nodded at his Corviknight. At the wordless command, the hulking bird Pokemon flew over to Opal and gently yet firmly pressed a foot over her back to keep her from getting up. Opal ignored the warning caw from Corviknight. She struggled helplessly against the weight, joining her screams of agony and rage with the howling wind.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede hated to see Opal so hurt and covered in so much blood. He felt like on the verge of passing out. He couldn’t stop his body and voice from shaking. “Celebi, get me out of this. I can’t watch anymore.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>To his immense relief, Celebi took his hands and granted his request. Light replaced the tears in his eyes.</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I don’t have musical inspiration for this chapter, or the next one. I don’t have anything to say about Chapters 6-7 except they’re most heavy, hard-hitting parts of the story.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. A Family Torn Apart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here’s the chapter with the strong language as mentioned in the summary, just in case you mind that stuff.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bede’s shaking legs couldn’t hold up anymore. He sank to his knees, hugging Celebi tightly against his chest. Had his journey through the past come to an end? Rubbing away tears on his sleeve and blinking open his eyes, Bede found himself kneeling on the floor of a darkened, unused hospital room, rather than inside the ring of yellow mushrooms where the Opal he knew would await him.</p><p>“You have more to show me, Celebi?” He whispered. </p><p>“Bi.” The time-traveling Pokemon nodded.</p><p>Bede swallowed hard. “I don’t know if I can keep going.” The image of Opal’s face covered in cuts, blood, and tears, and of the glass shard through her right hand, seared itself into his mind like a hot brand.</p><p>Celebi rested a little green hand on his wet cheek. “Yes, you can,” it seemed to say. “You have to. Opal did.”</p><p>Bede grit his teeth and forced himself to stop shaking. He shouldn’t be wimping out. Opal wouldn’t have picked a wimp to be the next Gym Leader, right? Slowly but steadily, he rose to his feet, and he let Celebi gently lead him by the hand out of the dark room. On numb, heavy feet he walked down the hall, slipping past doctors and nurses, and entered a room occupied by a patient. That patient was Opal.</p><p></p><div>
  <p>He almost didn’t recognize her at first. Her impeccable hair style and sense of elegant fashion seemed to be wiped clean upon her arrival at the hospital. Now her dark hair was limp and unkempt, and a plain white gown framed her thin, slumped figure. Her eyes, normally vivid and bright blue, were dull and unfocused as she seemed to be in the process of memorizing the placement of every tile on the hospital’s laminated floor. Stitches, tape, and squares of gauze—depending on the width and depth of the cuts—covered her face so she looked to Bede like a patched-up, hand-me-down doll he once saw in the orphanage toybox. The largest stitches had sealed the big wound in her right hand.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede realized he had been standing in the way of anyone else entering the room when Celebi drew him aside. A bespectacled grey-haired man in a white coat walked in past him, and when Opal didn’t look up, the man cleared his throat.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Excuse me, Ms. Opal?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She seemed to take a second or two for her eyes to focus on him. “Yes? Who are you?” Her voice was like a Gastly—light and wispy.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The doctor took a seat at her bedside. “Hello, Ms. Opal, I’m the gynecologist.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She frowned at him. “Gynecologist? I haven’t gone to one since I was pregnant with Jasper. But this time I’m not—“ Then her face paled. “No.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The doctor tightened his lips to a thin line. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Hers was covered by her good hand. “How...how did you know?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“The medics had found you bleeding between your legs at the crash site. You had passed out from the blood loss and came into the trauma unit unconscious. I was called in to do an abdominal ultrasound. We do abdominal ultrasounds for all trauma cases, but what the medics reported was cause for greater concern.“</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She leaned toward him, hanging on his every word. “What did you find?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“The ultrasound showed a fetus that’s, I’d say, more or less five weeks old.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“And?” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“And...and there was no heartbeat.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal leaned back and sat perfectly still in bed. The only part of her body that moved was her good hand bunching up the bedsheets.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>With audible hesitation between every few words, the gynecologist went on, “The ultrasound also showed that you took significant damage from the impact. There was extensive scarring and bleeding in your uterus. It had to be removed in an emergency operation. I’m so very sorry to tell you all this, Ms. Opal.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She said nothing for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, she murmured, “Thank you for telling me.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Is there anything else I can do for you, ma’am? Any questions or concerns?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She didn’t seem to hear him. Only when he asked a second time, her gaze snapped up to him and she shook her head. The gynecologist softly uttered another apology before he moved away to leave her alone.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal seemed to withdraw back into her silent stupor, but then she stirred in her bed, as if suddenly remembering something, and said, “Wait.” Her voice cracked as she struggled to raise it and call for the doctor.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He poked his head back through the open door he had just disappeared through. “Yes, Ms. Opal?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“My husband, Roger...my son, Jasper...and my brother, Kestrel...what happened to them? Where are they? Are they here in the hospital too? May I see them?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The gynecologist bit on his lower lip before he replied, “I’ll get your other brother in here. He ought to be the one telling you, I think.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“My other brother? Randall is here?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Sure enough, Randall came into the room a few minutes later after the gynecologist fetched him. Pyroar and Boltund flanked him, and relief was stamped all over his face.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Opal, you’re awake. I’m so glad.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Randy.” Cuts on her cheeks made her smile lopsided and uneven. “I didn’t expect to see you again like this.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Me neither.” He didn’t laugh at the wryness in her comment.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Roger, Jasper, and Kes...have you seen them?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall didn’t reply, making Opal tense.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Come on, Randy, tell me. Where are they?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He sank into the stool the doctor had just occupied and rested a hand on her shoulder. “I...I don’t think this is a good time to see them.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I want to see them <em>now</em>.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall said nothing for a while. Then, in a tight, small voice, he said, “I’ll take you to see Kes first.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal still had to recover from her surgery, so she couldn’t walk on her own yet. Randall needed a nurse’s help to move her from the bed and into a wheelchair. Bede followed them out of her room, and ahead of them, at the end of the hallway, he spotted a trio of police officers hanging around and talking in hushed tones just outside a room. Their badges read “Wynwall Police Department.” A pair of Growlithes and a Machamp waited patiently beside their human companions.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>As it became clear that she was being wheeled to that room, Opal stiffened. “Randy, why are the police here?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He didn’t say anything, except that Bede noticed how his grip tightened over the handles of the wheelchair.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>One of the officers, the youngest of the three, regarded Randall and Opal as they approached. “Are you family of Kestrel Roy?” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, his brother and sister,” Randall replied.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede heard mild shock in his voice, as if in disbelief that anyone working for the city of Wynwall wouldn’t know of the esteemed Roy family. To be fair, this officer looked young and wet behind the ears. Or not from around here, maybe.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You may go in, but I can’t let you be in there by yourself,” the officer went on.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Of course,” Randall said.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The officer led him and Opal into the room. Bede went in after them. Kestrel sat up in bed, in the same white gown as Opal, but not sporting nearly as many cuts as she did. What Bede saw next made his heart almost stop. Kestrel was handcuffed to the bed.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal must have noticed, too. Her voice was high-pitched in disbelief. “What’s the meaning of this?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The lump in Kestrel’s throat bobbed before he spoke. “Opal, I—“</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Shut up,” Randall snapped. “Don’t you say another word.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel flinched and stared down at the handcuff binding him to the bedside.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall turned to the officer and gestured at him to answer instead.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Well, ma’am, we found this on him when we arrived on scene.” The officer produced the canteen Kestrel had strapped to his hip. “It was full of liquor.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall squeezed his eyes shut, like he had heard this before, while Opal stared aghast at the officer. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It can’t be,” she murmured.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The officer looked down at her with solemnity that didn’t match his young freckled face. “We arrested your brother for vehicular manslaughter while under the influence.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She blinked at him as if he was speaking to her in a foreign language. “Manslaughter?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall cut off the officer with a shake of his head before he could go on. He walked around the wheelchair to face Opal and kneel down to meet her eyes. He clasped her hand that wasn’t covered in stitches. “Opal...I’m so, so sorry. Roger and Jasper...they didn’t make it. They’re gone.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She dropped her gaze from Randall’s face to her lap. What came out of her mouth was so quiet that Bede had to lean in to hear better. “Drinking? On the job? What the bloody hell were you thinking, Kes?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I-I couldn’t help myself.” Her youngest brother’s voice was thick with shame and self-loathing. “I got so nervous about the trip. You know what I do when I have to calm my nerves. You locked up all the drinks at home, so I flew out of town to buy and drink some before we flew out. I didn’t think I drank that much. I just wanted to make things right.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal didn’t reply. Instead she sprang out of the wheelchair and pushed Randall out of her way. The sudden vehemence of her movement startled everyone in the room, including Bede. Randall recovered quickly and moved faster than her. He threw both arms over his twin sister from behind, over her shoulders and around her chest, cutting off her mad lunge at the one responsible for the deaths of her spouse and son.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Opal—“</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’ll kill you,” she screamed at Kestrel. “<em>I’ll fucking kill you</em>!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Opal, please, calm down,” Randall pleaded into her ear. “You’ll hurt yourself.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She struggled in his embrace, grabbing at his sleeve with her good hand, but not for long. The officer had stepped forward to help Randall restrain her, but she went limp and sank back into the wheelchair sobbing. Randall kept his hold over her shaking shoulders.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel buried his tear-streaked face into the hand that wasn’t cuffed. “I’m sorry, Opal. I’m so sorry.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You can say sorry until you’re fucking blue in the face,” she spat. “It wouldn’t make a difference. That won’t bring my family back.” Opal lifted her gaze up to Kestrel, her blue eyes like Sheer Cold that sent shivers up Bede’s spine. Her whisper was just as stark and chilly. “You’re dead to me. You’re no longer my brother.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Unspoken hurt and shock struck Kestrel’s face. When she said “family,” she didn’t mean just Roger and Jasper, Bede realized. She meant Kestrel, too.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal looked away, and all the fight seemed to leave her as she slumped in the wheelchair. “Get me out of this room,” she said to Randall. “I want to see Roger and Jasper.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He wheeled her out, away from Kestrel, but as soon as they were outside he said, “Are you sure, Opal? I’ve talked to the medical examiner when you were unconscious...she said that they aren’t viewable.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I don’t care.” Her voice shook at what she said next. “I can’t believe they’re gone until I see them for myself.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>At the futility of fighting his sister’s stubbornness, Randall sighed in resignation. “All right. I’ll come with you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>At Celebi’s prompting, Bede followed Opal and Randall downstairs to the hospital morgue. He shivered and hugged himself. This cold wasn’t like the cold of a winter in Ballonlea Town. This cold brought no promise of warmth. It smelled like disinfectant...disinfectant that tried to mask the smell of death.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>In a compassionate brotherly gesture, Randall took off his coat and draped it over Opal, who was shivering in her thin hospital gown. Pyroar kept pace with the wheelchair and let Opal bury her good hand into its mane for more warmth. Bede, meanwhile, cradled Celebi to his chest for comfort.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He had never been in a morgue before, and no thanks to scenes from thriller and mystery movies he had seen, he braced himself for something dramatic and distressing—some part of the floor they forgot to scrub clean of blood, or sheets thrown back to flash the dead body, like some sick magic trick. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>There was nothing like that. A mortuary technician awaited Opal and Randall in a viewing room. He sat down with them and carefully and gently informed Opal on the details of the Flying Taxi accident. A carriage of metal and glass falling from a great height, with multiple impacts, had to have killed Roger and Jasper on site. There was almost no chance that they could have survived that kind of fall. Most of their bodies were crushed and mangled beyond recognition. Only their faces were deemed intact and viewable. The mortuary technician showed Opal photos of their faces, to which she nodded and insisted that she was prepared to see their real faces.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She held onto Randall’s hand when the bodies of her husband and son were pulled out of the storage. The technician unzipped the bags to show their faces, then stepped away to give Opal time to say good-bye. She was wheeled up to Roger first. Minus the dried dark cuts on his face, and the body bag, of course, he looked like he was sleeping.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal leaned in, as if to brush his hair back and kiss his forehead, but thought better of it and withdrew her hand. “You really went and left me,” she told him. “You promised that we were going to grow old together. You remember that? Don’t think for a second that I forgot.” It was obvious to Bede that Opal made a brave attempt to act like Roger could hear her. She sniffed and briefly pressed the sleeve of Randall’s coat over her eyes. “You remember the duet we sang in the forest? The song that made us meet and fall in love? I’ll sing it for both of us.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The first verse of the song was supposed to be Roger’s part. Opal sang it for him, then her part, but ended up not even making it halfway through the duet. Her singing dissolved into quiet sobs. Finally, she said, “I can’t sing this without you, darling. We always sang this together.” She tightened her good hand into a fist over her chest. “One day we will do that again. Just wait for me, okay?” She drew back and gathered herself with a shuddering sigh before turning to Randall. “You can take me to Jasper now.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her son looked like he was sleeping, too. It was his little, innocent, round face, the look of a boy who would never grow older than five, that made Opal completely break down when she came up to him. She cried so hard that her sobs came out like cries of pain. Bede clutched at the part of his jacket right over his heart. A mother’s grief was the most terrible thing to hear.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall knelt down beside his sister to let her cry into his arms and chest. He hadn’t said a word since he and Opal entered the morgue. What could he possibly say? There were no words for this. She seemed grateful for his silence. Perhaps that kind of unspoken understanding was possible for twins like Randall and Opal. A minute passed, then Opal pulled away looking determined to give Jasper more than her wordless tears.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She allowed herself the briefest stroke through her son’s still curly hair. “Jasper, darling, this is Mummy coming to tuck you into bed one last time. I bet that you’re with Daddy now, flying on a Pidgeot, to a magical land where you can eat all the ice cream and candy you want. I’m sorry that I can’t be there with you. Not yet. I bet that you’re with the baby, too. Someday you’ll get to tell me if you have a brother or a sister.” Struggling somewhat with her injured hand, Opal blew a soft air kiss to him. “Sweet dreams, darling.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede had to lean against the wall for support. He blinked hard and scrunched knuckles over his eyes, feeling the tears threatening to overwhelm him again. Opal lost her husband, son, and the child she hadn’t known she was carrying until too late—all in one day. She also lost any chances to have more children. And she had carried this terrible pain close to her heart for decades. Bede couldn’t even imagine.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She had vented all the sounds of her anguish in the hospital. By the time she was discharged and had headed back home to Ballonlea Town for the funeral, she was a figure of blank, unbroken, and quiet stoicism as her husband and son were laid to rest.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal didn’t have time for rest of her own. Soon after the funeral, she was summoned to court for Kestrel’s trial. True to her declaration of disowning him at the hospital, she adamantly avoided meeting his eyes and acknowledging him as anything more than an alcoholic and a murderer, even when she stepped up to read her victim impact statement:</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“The hurt and pain you have caused me is a thousand times greater than what had landed me in the hospital. Roger trusted you with his life, and you betrayed him by taking it away from him. Jasper adored you, and you killed him because you adored alcohol more. I blame myself for thinking that you had changed, for entrusting the lives of my husband and son to you. I will carry more than scars on my body. I will carry the regret of my mistake of believing in you for the rest of my life. I have said it before, and I will say it again: you are dead to me, and you are not my brother anymore.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The amount of fury that Opal could channel through her composure frightened and astonished Bede. This was not the quirky, friendly old woman he knew. Kestrel, meanwhile, said nothing in his defense. With an unshaven lower half of his face and bags under his eyes, he looked like the oldest of the three instead of the youngest now. Opal’s words utterly destroyed him, and the look on his face told of how much he felt deserving of all his sister’s anger and hatred. Despite everything the man had done to tear his family apart, Bede actually felt a bit sorry for him. Kestrel had really tried to fix mistakes he had made in the past, but he wasn’t strong enough, and he ended up making the biggest mistake of his life. For handling a Flying Taxi while intoxicated, and for the deaths of two family members in the process, Kestrel was sentenced to ten years in prison.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger’s death released his Pokemon from his ownership. Likewise, Kestrel’s sentence relinquished him of his Pokemon as well. It was up to Opal to deal with all of them. They were gathered in the front yard of her house, facing the armbench where she sat.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her gaze and words directed to them were filled with sympathy. “You can’t go back to your Trainers anymore. That’s just not possible. I’m sorry.” With her good hand, she held up a pair of fingers. “You have two choices. You may stay with me, or you may run free to live in the wild. Whatever you choose, you have my support.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Corviknight, Staraptor, Pidgeot, Mightyena, and Obstagoon stared at Opal for a few more moments, looked at each other, then made their decisions. Kestrel’s bird Pokemon spread their wings and uttered piercing cries. Hovering close to Bede, Celebi touched one side of his head, and from that moment on he received flashes of telepathic clarity. Corviknight, Staraptor, and Pidgeot were announcing their intention to leave Ballonlea Town. Opal didn’t train Flying type Pokemon, and the treetops hemming in the town didn’t make an ideal habitat for Kestrel’s Pokemon, who liked to soar high and freely. One by one, they stalked up to Opal to touch their heads and beaks against her hand to convey their condolences, then stepped back to take off.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Corviknight lingered the longest, and Opal actually reached up to wrap her arms around the Pokemon’s neck. “Thank you,” she said, “for protecting me back in Route 10. I could’ve had worse injuries if I had gotten up. You kept me down even knowing that I didn’t like you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Corviknight uttered a soft caw, which Bede heard as “I’m so sorry for what happened.” Opal touched the flat part of its crest for a moment, sharing in the loss of the man who had been its Trainer and her brother. Then she let her hand drop back to her side. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’m never riding a Flying Taxi ever again, but you were just doing what you were told, and I don’t blame you for the accident. I hope you remember that.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Corviknight nodded, then stepped away to join Pidgeot and Staraptor. As for Mightyena and Obstagoon, they made soft grunts, saying in unison that they had no intentions of going anywhere.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal regarded them with surprise. “I’m not a Dark type Pokemon Trainer. And Roger is...” Her voice shook. “Roger is gone. You’re sure you still want to stay with me?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Obstagoon crossed its arms and grunted, which Bede heard as “This is our home, and that hasn’t changed even though our Trainer isn’t here anymore.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Mightyena whined and wagged its tail to mean “We like having a home to look after and protect. You gave us and our Trainer that home.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Obstagoon uttered a soft growl, saying “Let us give back and look after you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal couldn’t understand them like Bede temporarily could, but their determination to stay made her eyes fill with tears. “Oh, you two...you really don’t have to...”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Mightyena bounded up to rest its head on her lap, while Obstagoon lumbered over to hug her. She wrapped her arms around them and cried into Obstagoon’s white chest fur. Opal’s Pokemon team came through the door, perhaps at the sound of her crying, to join her and Roger’s Pokemon on the bench.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Surrounded by the love of all these Pokemon, despite losing her husband, son, and unborn child, Opal smiled for the first time since that fateful flight.</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I lied. There IS musical inspiration for this chapter. It’s “All I Ask of You” from Phantom of the Opera, but this time without music, with just a woman singing, and it’s a thousand times sadder.</p><p>I lost my dad to a stroke on January 13th of this year, so the grieving process is still very raw and real for me, and I found myself channeling that into Opal’s own grief for the family she lost. It felt cathartic.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Searching For Pink</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Opal returned to Ballonlea Town to bury Roger and Jasper, she didn’t take time off from her Gym Leader responsibilities or close the theatre. She kept both open, showed up promptly as she always did, and carried on as if she didn’t carry the weight of grief on her shoulders.</p><p>Bede knew, however, that her facade fell apart every time she stepped foot inside her house. Her smooth brow and stiff upper lip would crumple, then her Pokemon would run up to her so she could hold on to them for support.</p><p>“The hardest part of the day is coming back to an empty house,” she whispered to them.</p><p>Empty as in no more Roger and Jasper. The Pokemon were always around, but she would no longer see her husband working on scripts over the dinner table, or hear her son’s laughter fill the house.</p><p>“I suppose I better get right on to clearing out their things,” she said, and at that, her eyes filled up with tears.</p><p>Opal emptied the closet of Roger’s ties and suits, Jasper’s little shirts, sweaters, and pants. Boxes of toys and picture books became boxes destined for donation. Bede wanted nothing more than to help her—just as he had done for a much older Opal when she desperately needed to clear up the clutter in her house—but being a traveler from another time, all he could do was stand by and watch helplessly as frequent pauses to collect herself and choke back sobs kept Opal from working as efficiently as she could have.</p><p></p><div>
  <p>She didn’t clear out everything from the house. She couldn’t bring herself to toss out Roger’s incomplete scripts. Instead she kept them in a plain, unlabeled binder which would sit next to her mother’s manual on Fairy type Pokemon. She stripped the nightstands, counters, and walls of framed snapshots of her family. Pulling the pictures out of their frames and compiling them into stacks, without regard for any sort of order, Opal tucked them away deep in the attic. Bede knew that she wouldn’t be seeing those photos in a long, long time, until he would stumble on them by accident.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“She’s cleaning up the evidence,” Bede said to Celebi, “like she’s trying to wipe out any sign that Roger and Jasper were ever here.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He wasn’t speaking out of judgment. He knew where she was coming from. When his parents fell behind on their debts, and literally couldn’t afford to support him anymore, they dumped him at the orphanage. The hand-made clothes they left him, their attempt to give him something to remember them by, were insult to injury. The first thing Bede did was chuck his clothes in the dumpster, so that the caregivers at the orphanage had to give him new ones, and he did not talk to anyone for a week.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Once Opal ended the taxing, thankless task and ruefully rubbed at her aching back, she went outside to spend the rest of the night smoking from her armbench. That became her new evening habit. Smoking. No more reading bedtime stories to Jasper. No more bouncing ideas with Roger as he labored over writing a new play.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Holding Celebi’s hand, Bede was taken through a sad, bleak timelapse as Opal sank deep into her smoking habit, burning through up to three packs of cigarettes a day, all from her armbench, and contributing significant weight gain to her Weezing, which ate up the smoky air she’d make. Bede sat down beside her, and though he wouldn’t call himself a hugger, he wanted to give her one now. A frown seemed to set deep into her face, like etching on a stone, and her hooded, unfocused eyes didn’t register the forest’s charm and beauty surrounding her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>One early evening, Randall arrived at her house by car—the same car she had taken to see him at Wynwall. His arrival took her by surprise, but only for a moment, and her eyes returned to distant dullness.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Evening, Opal.” He tipped off his tophat to her in greeting, then knelt down to her sitting level and took her hands. “How are you doing?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Randy, what are you doing here?” She didn’t answer his question. Trying to dodge either an obvious lie or the hard truth, Bede guessed.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her twin brother made a small smile. “I thought you ought to be the first one to know. Rather than giving you a call or sending you mail, I ought to tell you in person.” The smile lingered on his lips, like good news sat on the tip of his tongue, and when he paused for effect, Opal beat him to it.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You have a date for the wedding, don’t you? And I’m invited?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Delight lit up his face. “Why, yes. Sharp as always, Opal. I figured you would know.” Guilt flickered in his bright blue gaze as he turned it from her face to her hands. “I...I almost didn’t want to tell you, because...well...” He trailed off as he stared at the healing scar on her right hand.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>With her left, Opal gripped his shoulder. “Congratulations, Randy. Really. All my best wishes for you and your fiancee. I appreciate you coming to tell me yourself. Whenever that wedding is, I’ll be there. What kind of sister can’t come to her own brother’s wedding?” Her smile told Bede of a brave, sincere attempt to muster happiness for Randall despite the grief she wallowed in.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He stood up and turned to sit on the bench beside her, and Bede was quick enough to move out of the way. “There’s something else I need to tell you, too. Marion wants me to move to Kalos with her after we get married. I...I’m thinking of selling the family estate in the process. I wanted to run that through you before I do that.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You’ve been in charge of that place for the past five years now. My home is here in Ballonlea, not at Wynwall. Not anymore, not for a long time, anyway. You don’t need my approval.” She tilted her head at him. “I feel like there’s another reason you’re thinking about that, even without your fiancee’s conditions.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall nodded. “The Rose family gets more rich and powerful with each year,” he admitted. “They’re talking big plans—renovating Wynwall from the ground up, mining the region for new sources of energy, and of course, repurposing the Gyms for Dynamax battles.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh yes, I’ve heard,” Opal said. “My Gym’s next for reconstruction soon.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It’s just me against an entire family of businessmen, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs. I can’t keep up against them,” Randall went on. “Better to bow out now on friendly terms than go on to become bitter competitors and fight a losing battle. Besides, I fall in love with Kalos more and more every time I visit. It’s time to set my sights on a new land and a new life.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Your heart is leading you somewhere else. You should follow it.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He smiled at her. “I’m beginning to understand why you left Wynwall and came here all those years ago.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I wouldn’t trade Ballonlea Town for any other place in the world,” Opal murmured. She stared off in the direction of the trail leading to the cemetery, where her spouse and child were buried.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall followed her gaze for a few moments before he went on, “I didn’t come here alone. When I released all the servants from my service, I made sure that they found work or retirement. Most chose to be transferred to the Rose family estate, but there are exceptions.” He gestured at the car, and Bede recognized the elderly gentleman who stepped out.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Winston,” Opal exclaimed.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He bowed at her, then straightened up with an awkward tug at his collar. “My apologies, ma’am. No longer being a butler will take a considerable amount of adjustment.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Winston wanted to move to Ballonlea,” Randall said to Opal. “Proper retirement doesn’t suit him quite yet, so he’d like to work at the mart in the Pokemon Center, or at the inn, or the Dancing Impidimp. You know, somewhere that would benefit from his services. I approved the idea wholeheartedly. I thought you might appreciate having a familiar face around here.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal didn’t quite smile at Winston. Having her family cruelly ripped away had also taken away her ability to properly smile and laugh for five years now. Despite that, fondness for the former butler still showed through her tone. “You are more than welcome to stay. I’ll look forward to seeing you wherever you’ll be working.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall rose from the armbench, tucking the tophat under his arm. “Well, Opal, I’m delighted to hear that you’ll be coming to the wedding.” He froze midway in turning around, and returned to face her. “Ah, I almost forgot. I...” He cleared his throat. “I visited him in prison. He’s wondering if you’ll...” Randall trailed off, unable to finish.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal shook her head. “No,” she said in a low, tight voice. “I don’t know if I ever will.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I see. I’ll give him my regards the next time I see him, then.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede was sharp enough to figure out that they were talking about Kestrel, who wondered if Opal would ever come visit him. The way they dodged about uttering his name told of how cut off he still was from the family. It had been five years since Roger and Jasper died, so Kestrel was halfway through his sentence. Bede doubted that Opal would ever want to see him around Ballonlea Town again, if he would be released in the next five years.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>With a gentle hold of Bede’s hands, Celebi pulled him forward in time to the day that Opal and Randall bid each other farewell at the Wynwall airport.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall’s newly wedded wife from Kalos, along with his Pyroar and Boltund, stood respectfully to the side as the siblings shared a tight, long hug.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Will you really be all right by yourself?” Randall asked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>With her chin on his shoulder, Opal mustered a smile. “I’ve already told you a hundred times, Randy. I’m not alone. I have my Pokemon. They’re—”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Your family, I know.” He pulled back to hold her at arms’ length and return her smile. “I’ll try to call and write to you as often as I can.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Likewise.” Opal beckoned at Randall’s wife to come up, and she held their hands. “Go make the most of your marriage for me, okay? I know I already said this at the wedding, but I want you two to love each other with each day to the fullest. Smile at the smallest things and laugh at each other’s corny jokes. Never go to bed angry. You never know when you’ll wake up and find that it’s too late to say sorry.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Grief and loss had given Opal weighted wisdom beyond women of her age. Looking at her brother and sister in-law, she was probably trying her hardest to recollect her own newlywed giddiness with Roger. She tried to end on a happier, more hopeful note. “If you ever plan on starting a family, I want to be the first to know.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Randall pulled her into another hug, tears thick in his eyes. “My big sister, always leaving behind advice more valuable than pearls and golden nuggets.” He chuckled and wiped at his tears. “This is the best advice you’ve given me so far. Every other one was about warning me to stay out of trouble.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You better keep a close eye on him, Marion,” Opal said as she winked at his wife. “He used to be quite the troublemaker when he and I were little. He didn’t listen to me about shaving all the hair off our father’s Pyroar, and that earned him a spanking of the century.” She chuckled in what must have been the first time in a long time as Randall sputtered in embarrassment, and Marion put a hand to her mouth in mock horror.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede didn’t get to hear more of the conversation as he felt Celebi’s fluttering touch and warm light.</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Brought back inside Opal’s house, he jumped at the sound of something scattering all over the floor. Something like heavy papers. He peeked into the kitchen to find that Opal had swept a stack of mail off her table. They fell like dead autumn leaves. One letter she had unfolded trembled in her hand, then it crumpled under her grip and she flung it down.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Are you kidding me?” She burst out. “They could’ve told me in person, or at the very least with a phone call. Not through fucking <em>mail</em>!” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede flinched and pressed himself against the wall as she paced between the kitchen and living room swearing up a storm. At Celebi’s prompting, he crept over to the scattered letters and lowered himself on all fours to peer at the one Opal had been holding.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It was legible, and not too crumpled, for him to make out the fine print addressed to Opal from the Wynwall Correctional Institute. He pulled back in shock, almost hitting the back of his head against the tabletop right behind him. “Kestrel hung himself in prison.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>There came a loud, heavy crash as Opal flipped over the coffee table in the living room. Bede ducked under the dining table, hugging Celebi to his chest. He wasn’t alone in his fear of this unhinged Opal. Her and Roger’s Pokemon nearby made no effort to hide it. Alcremie ducked behind a partly open kitchen cabinet door. Mawile fixed its large jaws on the legs of a wooden chair. Togekiss hunched over the sofa, its white feathers puffed out and eyes scrunched shut. Mightyena and Obstagoon pulled back their ears and let out strained growls. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal knotted her hair into both fists and sank into the living room sofa with a scream. Her hands slid down to cover her face and she went silent for a while. Finally she lowered her hands to reveal wet cheeks, and horror plain in her eyes, as she took in the mess she had wrought in her house and the Pokemon cowering before her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh...oh, my darlings, my dears...I’m so sorry.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Togekiss was the first to approach her by settling into her lap and pressing its soft weight against her. The other Pokemon were quick to join in as Opal held out her arms to welcome them into her embrace.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’m terribly sorry to give you all such a fright,” she murmured. “I never thought I’d trash the house and act out like this. I feel like Roger and Jasper took away the best parts of me when they died. You have the misfortune of dealing with the mess I’ve been.” Opal tightened her arms around Togekiss, pressing her cheek against its white feathers. “I was supposed to visit my brother today, you see, but just before I could, that letter from the prison came. Back in Wynwall, when Randy told me that Roger and Jasper had died, I told Kes that I would kill him. And I did.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Something in her must have snapped that day. That news of her brother’s death was the straw that broke the Camerupt’s back. Since that day, her Gym challenge became a merciless one-sided Gym throwdown.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede remembered Opal being always consoling and encouraging to challengers who would lose against her. But here and now, in the darkest time of her life, she would do no such thing for any kid unlucky enough to set foot in her Gym. She spared no time nor mercy for the challengers whose Pokemon were beaten to the ground and League dreams were dashed. She kept a stern tightness about her face and posture, both hands clenched and white over the handle of her parasol. She would make no move or show of sympathy to tears of defeat and humiliation. Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. Matches against Opal lost their entertainment value. They became plain painful to look at. Rumors and gossip spread like wildfire among spectators.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Poor kids. They run out of this Gym absolutely crushed.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Poor Opal. She’s being like this to the kids because she lost her husband and son.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“That’s terrible, don’t get me wrong. But if you ask me, I don’t think she should be running the Gym with the way she is now.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I can’t watch these matches anymore. No one’s having fun.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I heard that the League’s going to do something about that. About her.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Something or someone had to step in and correct her streak of ruthlessness—Bede hated to admit it, but he had to agree. She was showing no signs of stopping herself, no signs of veering off the self-destructive path she was blazing on. He saw himself, his own pain and rage, in Opal. He wanted to be the one to reach out and stop her before she destroyed herself.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Of course, in the bid for regional championship, you give it your all and show off your true strength,” Opal once told Bede over tea and scones. “But as a Gym Leader facing challengers with stars in their eyes and dreams flying to the moon, there’s a fine balance between testing and nurturing their potential. You don’t want to be a pushover, but you don’t want to be impossible, either.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Sounds tricky,” Bede had said, and that made her smirk behind her teacup.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It’s an art, my boy, one I know you have what it takes to master.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede had the benefit of coming from the future to know that Opal would return to the art of being a good Gym Leader again. But how? </p>
</div><div>
  <p>His question was answered when a black-haired teenage boy stepped up to challenge Opal. Though that boy wore the neutral-colored jersey, he was ablaze with boldness and determination as he sent out an entire team of Fire type Pokemon against her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The fall of his Arcanine, Torkoal, and Ninetales left him with only Centiskorch, but this didn’t seem to deter him.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’ve heard a lot about you, Ms. Opal, but your reputation doesn’t scare me,” the teen declared. “You’ve been giving plenty of challengers a hard time. I’ll do my best to turn the tables on you!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She didn’t respond with a jaunty smile and a witty comeback, as she usually did during matches. While the boy’s eyes were alight with the thrill of battle, hers were dark with bitter anger. She too was down to her last Pokemon—something that Bede and the audience hadn’t seen in a while. Her tightened lips only loosened as she barked orders at Alcremie to attack.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Alcremie, use Draining Kiss!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Here it comes, Centiskorch. Counter with Fire Lash!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Alcremie, Acid Armor! Take whatever move’s coming next and get that health back with Draining Kiss!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The Gym challenger put up a good fight. He set the whole stadium on fire with his tenacity and spirit. Bede could feel it singe the tips of his hair and his skin.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>In the end, however, Opal’s experience won out. Against her Alcremie bulked up on its defense, plus her favorite move, the health-sapping Draining Kiss, Centiskorch couldn’t last. Its long body hit the ground with a heavy, undulating thud. The boy took his defeat hard. He sank to his knees and his gaze dropped to the stadium floor. A rousing applause from the spectators jerked him out of his stupor. He staggered to his feet and blinked in a stupefied daze at the show of support for him. Of all the Trainers who challenged the Ballonlea Gym since the loss of Opal’s family, this scrawny kid came the closest to defeating her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He probably didn’t know that, though. He continued to look glum as he emerged from the Gym after a change of clothes. He was still crying, and he stopped every few steps to wipe his face on his sleeve.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He was about to cross the bridge that connected the Gym to the rest of Ballonlea Town when a slide of the automatic doors revealed Opal. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You there,” she called to him, “remind me of your name again?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He whirled around, then dried his face with one more wipe of his sleeve before replying. “It’s Kabu, ma’am.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh, I thought he looked familiar,” Bede exclaimed to Celebi. “I should’ve guessed from all the Fire type Pokemon he had.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal approached him and jerked her head toward the path opposite of the cottages. “Come take a walk with me, Kabu. You don’t seem like you’re from around here. You should check out how beautiful these trails are. They’re the pride of this town.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kabu obliged, clutching at the towel about his neck while jogging up to her. Once he caught up, he matched her stride.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I guess you’re from Hoenn?” She asked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The look he gave her was wide with surprise. “How did you know?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“My husband was from Hoenn. It’s the accent. That’s how I could tell.” Opal shot him a curious glance. “What do you plan on doing now?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I was thinking about heading back to my home region since I lost.” Kabu kicked a pebble out of the way, his eyes downcast. “I’ve grown to really like it here. I was hoping to stay in Galar.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You may have lost against me, kid, but don’t give up on your Pokemon League dreams just yet. You’ve got potential. Gym Leader potential.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kabu almost lurched to a halt in disbelief. “I-I have what?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You heard me right.” Opal looked him up and down. “You’re not the one I’m looking for. You’re not pink enough. No, you’re...red. A fiery, indomitable red. The kind of red that refuses to be extinguished, like a fire that doesn’t want to be put out. That was some match we just had back there. You almost gave me a run for my money, you know.” She turned her attention back to the trail ahead of her and resumed walking. “Do you always use Fire type Pokemon?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I try to, even though it’d make more sense to have a balance of types. Still, I want to be a Fire type specialist.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I see. Then I’ll put in a good word for you to Oswald, the Gym Leader in Motostoke.” She aimed a smirk at him. “He’s hard to impress, but I know that you’ll win him over with your passion, plus a little help from me. I hate to see talent being wasted. You’ll put it to good use through training with good old Oswald, I’m sure.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You...you’re endorsing me even after I had lost?” Kabu bowed low at the waist before her. “Ms. Opal, thank you very much for your support.” He lifted his head and tears dotted the corners of his eyes. “How can I ever repay you?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She smiled. “You already have, Kabu.”</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal returned to the Gym stadium, which had been cleared of spectators since she had finished her match with Kabu. With both hands propped more loosely over the handle of her parasol, she took in the space and silence of the empty stadium.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“That was quite the match,” boomed a man’s voice from above. “You had me at the edge of my seat, Opal.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She looked up and smirked. “Oh. It’s you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Standing not too far away from her, Bede gasped. “Celebi, I know that guy!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>As someone who was hell bent on becoming a Champion, he had taken it upon himself to know about every past Champion of the Galar region. Of course he knew the man perched on the spectators’ bench. He had just never seen the man in his younger years.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Mustard, the reigning Champion before Leon, jumped nimbly into the arena, followed by his two Urshifus. He straightened up to his full height, which turned out to be a head shorter than Opal. Nonetheless, the strength and confidence emanating from him was palpable to Bede.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal quirked a long dark eyebrow. “You didn’t come just to watch things heat up in here, did you?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Mustard stuffed both hands into the pockets of his green jacket. “Well, no,” he admitted. “I’m here on League orders. You’ve sent enough kids running home crying to get the League’s attention, and not in a good way. I was supposed to warn you if you didn’t let up.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Warn me of what? Of being relieved from my Gym Leader post?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Mustard put up his hands before returning them inside the pockets. “Hey, the committee takes care of all that stuff. I’m just the messenger.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She smirked. “You were going to warn me with a battle, weren’t you?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He winked at her. “You know me so well.” He cracked his knuckles. “I don’t talk things out—I fight them out, with my Pokemon!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh, so you want a match now?” Opal’s hand flitted to the Poke balls strapped to her belt. “Very well. I’m having my best winning streak yet. Maybe this time I got a shot at knocking the Champion off his pedestal.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Mustard belted out a hearty laugh. “Don’t count on it, Opal. I don’t plan on breaking <em>my</em> winning streak, especially to you.” He chose his rapid style strike Urshifu to take on the first Pokemon Opal sent out: Weezing.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>With its telekinesis, Celebi pulled Bede up to safety on the spectator benches. The stadium became alive again with the clash of opposing Pokemon and their attacks. Bede realized that at this point in time, forty something year-old Opal was like the Raihan of her day—a force to be reckoned with, the best among the Gym Leaders, and a worthy rival to the Champion. She was good, but not good enough to beat Mustard.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Despite the type disadvantage, and half the amount of Pokemon, Mustard ultimately won the upper hand and defended his Champion title. Even at Gigantamax proportions, Opal’s Alcremie fell in defeat to blows from his single style strike Urshifu. She withdrew her fainted Pokemon into its ball and handled her loss with a graceful nod.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You still got it.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“So do you,” Mustard said. “This is the closest match we’ve had yet.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal hooked the ball containing her ace Pokemon back to her belt. “You know, Mustard, fighting that kid Kabu today reminded me of why I love being a Gym Leader. Finding kids with talent, and lifting them up to fulfill their potential, is a reward in of itself. I used to live for that, but I lost sight of it after Roger and Jasper...” Opal looked away. “Losing my son that young...he was only five. He never got the chance to turn ten and become a Trainer and have his own Pokemon. Meanwhile there are kids running around the region, set loose by their mums and dads to go on all sorts of adventures. Those kids probably don’t know how good they got it, how lucky and blessed they are to just be alive.” Her eyes grew wetter the more she blinked. “That felt so unfair. I would get so angry when I think about it. I took out my anger on all those poor kids coming to challenge my Gym. They didn’t deserve that. I want to tell them sorry for being a bad Gym Leader.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Mustard closed the gap between them in a few strides and rested a hand on her shoulder. “Opal, you’re not a bad Gym Leader. You’re a damn good one who’s been through hell. I’ve never married, never had kids, so you’re going through pain I can’t even begin to imagine. What I do know is that sometimes it helps to take a step back and take a breather for a bit. Get a few days off from the Gym. Get some rest.” He cracked a wry grin. “You might think that I train myself and my Pokemon by punching rocks all day. But punch that rock too many times and too hard, and you’ll come away broken and bleeding.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The Champion left Opal with that, and she seemed to consider his last remark as she stared after his retreating back.</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Since her match with Kabu, and with Mustard, Opal relaxed the standards of her Gym challenge and her own battling style—not enough to be a walk in the park, but certainly not the approach that had steamrolled on the hopes and dreams of children, either.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She cut down on her smoking habit significantly, and forced herself out of the house more often to go on walks with Mightyena, to the grocery store, to the Gym, anything to get her moving.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Through that, she seemed to forgive the world for what it had done to Roger and Jasper. And she seemed to forgive herself, too, for what she had done to Kestrel.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>For the first time since the funeral, Opal visited Roger and Jasper at the Ballonlea Cemetery. Though there was no third headstone, she left an extra bouquet of flowers for her unborn, unnamed child. Instead of standing over and before the burial sites like most people would, she would sit down and lean her back against the side of the headstone, and talk aloud as if her family was still alive to hear her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Another day gone by with no successor chosen,” she said with a sigh. “The next Gym Leader after me was supposed to be you, Jasper, darling, when you got older. But I suppose we can’t do anything about that now, can we?” Opal reached out with one arm to touch her husband’s name etched on the headstone. “I’m holding auditions, just as I did with you, Roger. I’m not just fighting the challengers, but testing them to see if any of them have what it takes to be a Gym Leader of Ballonlea Town. So far I’ve had no luck. Do you suppose I should lower my standards?” She paused, as if listening intently to a reply Bede couldn’t hear. Then she chuckled. “No, I better not. I’ve never been one to settle for less. That’s how I roped you in to act and sing at the theatre, after all. Speaking of ropes...” The smile died on her face. “I wonder if Kes is with you now, wherever you are. He left a note addressed to me in prison before he...” She couldn’t bring herself to finish that sentence. She started another: “The prison sent it to me, but I haven’t opened it yet. I don’t know if I ever could.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She let out a shuddering sigh, closed her eyes, and fell into a somber silence, which was gently broken when a young red-haired woman approached the graves on soft, tentative footsteps.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh, I didn’t know you’d be here,” the newcomer remarked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal opened her eyes, briefly startled by the voice, but that was quickly replaced with a smile. “Mag, long time no see.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Magnolia had grown up to cut a smart figure in the white lab coat. No longer the girl Bede had last seen, she now looked every inch the Pokemon professor everyone remembered her to be.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Magnolia bent down to add her bouquet of flowers to Opal’s. “I come every month to leave these,” she said. “I haven’t seen you around until now.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, well, this is the first time I could bring myself to visit them.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I don’t blame you at all,” Magnolia said with sympathy. Opal continued to lean against the headstone, while Magnolia knelt down and removed her glasses to dab at her eyes. “I think of little Jasper every day. Sometimes I wish I could have visited you all more, be a better godmother for Jasper...”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal clasped Magnolia’s hand. “Don’t feel bad, Mag. You’re a very busy woman doing important research and good work for the region. I always appreciated it when you could drop by for a visit and play with Jasper. He absolutely adored you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The younger woman dropped her gaze to the burial sites just past her knees. “I still feel guilty. I can’t help but look back and think of the what ifs and should haves.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal closed her eyes and her voice softened to a murmur. “I’m with you there. Sometimes, on the worst nights I can’t sleep, it’s not from nightmares, but from wishing that I had gone with Roger, Jasper, and the baby, so they didn’t have to leave me behind.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Magnolia returned Opal’s grip with a squeeze. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal clearly tried to steer the conversation to a lighter note as she said next, “How’s your family doing back at Wedgehurst? Your daughter’s about to turn four soon, right?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Good memory. Yes, I’ve got to plan her birthday party when I get back.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal rose to her feet and brushed bits of grass off her skirt. “Before I forget, come with me to my house so I can give you some of Jasper’s old toys. I say old, but they’re still in excellent condition.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“My daughter would love that. Thank you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal and Magnolia left the cemetery together, and as Bede tried to follow them, Celebi led him with both hands not just through the cemetery, but through the currents of time.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Now, instead of Opal leading Magnolia into the house, Magnolia was leading Opal out of it.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Just tell me already, Mag. Where are you taking me?” Opal asked. “What could be so important?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You’ll see when we get there,” the younger woman teased.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal’s show of anticipation and impatience made Bede crack a smirk. “She did the same to me. Got a taste of her own medicine back then, huh?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede trailed after them, in the dark as much as Opal was. That is, until he realized the route he was taking. His eyes went wide as he weaved through the dense undergrowth. “Celebi, I think we’re—“</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The time-traveling Pokemon nudged him further in the direction Magnolia and Opal had taken, then drew away from him and danced several figure eights in the air.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede frowned. “Huh? What are you trying to tell me?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi pointed after the two women.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Okay, follow them. And then?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi didn’t make any more gestures. Instead a brilliant light engulfed it, and was gone in another blink of an eye.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Alarm spiked in Bede’s chest. Where the hell did Celebi just go? Did it just travel in time without him? Did he just get left behind in a time he didn’t belong in? He always had the Pokemon to guide him. Now what? He tried to take in deep, long breaths to calm himself. Celebi made it pretty clear to stick with Magnolia and Opal, but didn’t indicate anything else after that.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>All he could do was trust that Celebi would appear to him again, whenever that was. Hopefully soon.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede tailed Magnolia and Opal for several more minutes, hoping with each minute that Celebi would come back for him. The two women stopped at a clearing. A clearing Bede recognized, because it was ringed with yellow mushrooms.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal looked around with uncertainty instead of familiarity flickering in her pale blue eyes. “Mag, where are we? What’s so special about this place?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Magnolia didn’t answer Opal’s questions. Instead she produced a handful of cheri berries from her bag and held it out. A few feet before Magnolia’s extended hand, an orb of light materialized out of thin air. And from that light, Celebi appeared.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Everyone in the clearing reacted differently. Magnolia greeted Celebi with a warm smile, Opal gasped, while realization hit Bede like a clout to the head. Celebi traveled through time to meet up with Magnolia and Opal! When it had been accompanying Bede, it remained invisible to Pokemon and people of the past. Now it was present in that past, really present.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal evidently struggled to get over her shock. “I-I’ve only heard about this Pokemon in stories. Could this really be...”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Magnolia looked over her shoulder. “Yes, this is Celebi, the Pokemon that travels through time. While conducting research over Dynamax energy in Ballonlea, I stumbled upon this charming, elusive creature. After much convincing with cheri berries and my promises to bring it no harm, Celebi was kind enough to let me study its abilities. It does more than time traveling. It can show you timelines that have yet to exist, or never would. In other words, it can show you the future that could have been.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It can really do that?” Opal breathed. She tread on light feet closer to Magnolia and Celebi, who was eating the berries out of her hand.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Opal, you must have lots of questions,” Magnolia said softly. “The what ifs and should haves. Celebi is here to help you answer those questions. But only if you’re okay with that. I brought you here so you could have the chance to see, but I don’t want to cause you more pain and grief if you’d rather not.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal looked away for a few moments, then back at Magnolia and Celebi with conviction. “I...I want to know. I’ve always wondered what would’ve happened if that day had been different.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Finished with Magnolia’s offering of berries, Celebi flitted up to Opal, who reached out with a trembling hand. “Celebi...please show me the future that could have been,” Opal whispered. “The future that will never be.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Bi...” Celebi peered down at the puckered, star-shaped scar marring the palm of Opal’s right hand. It touched the scar with its small hands, tickling Opal as her fingers twitched in response. Celebi raised its hands to touch the dark hair of her temples. It pulled back to draw out a shimmering stream, and flung its hands upward to open that stream into a pool hovering above everyone.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>In the depths of that shimmering pool were glimpses of faded images, voices in faded echoes. Kestrel steered his Corviknight, without a drink beforehand, safely to Wynwall. Randall greeted everyone happily at the family estate instead of the hospital. Jasper grew up, and on his tenth birthday, received his first Pokemon: a Togepi. He was showered with hugs and kisses from his parents before embarking on his adventure as a Pokemon Trainer. More years passed. A teenage Jasper won the championship tournament, but chose not to defend his title as he returned to Ballonlea Town homesick and wanting to spend more time with his mother and father. While working at the theatre and learning the ropes of managing a Gym, Jasper met an up-and-coming actor, who he fell head over heels with. A colorful, flowery wedding followed soon after that. There were smiles all around the house when Jasper and his husband proudly presented the baby girl they had adopted. More years passed, more grey found its way into Opal’s hair, and the baby girl grew up into a woman with curly blonde hair and violet eyes.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede’s hair and eyes.</p>
  <p>“Whoa, what?” He blurted out. “That’s my <em>mum</em>.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He didn’t care if he sounded like an idiot talking to himself. The pool kept shimmering and unraveling the nonexistent future. That woman, his mother, got married and had a baby of her own. Opal, now white-haired and stooped but still quite spry, was delighted as she got to hold her great-grandchild for the first time. Roger, looking even more wizened and elderly than his wife, leaned in for a better look. She pulled back the blanket to kiss the top of the baby’s head. That baby was Bede himself.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The pool stopped shimmering. It thinned and trickled into a river that ran down between Celebi and Opal to vanish into the grass. No one said anything for a long time. Tears had run unchecked down Opal’s face as she had looked upon a future when the lives of her family were allowed to run their course. When a tragic accident hadn’t cruelly cut them short. Finally, as if broken free from a spell, Opal stirred and wiped a sleeve over her face. Magnolia rested a hand on her shaking shoulder.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal lowered her arm to meet Celebi’s large, ringed eyes. “Thank you for showing me all that,” she murmured. “And thank you, Mag, for bringing me here. Some people might’ve not wanted to see a future that can’t be theirs, but I...I feel more at peace now that I’ve seen it. Now I feel like I can move on. Move forward to try and make my own long, happy future.” A thoughtful expression made her brow furrow a bit. “Those people who came into our lives...who’s to say that they won’t exist someday? Maybe I might run into any one of them in a different way.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You’re right, Ms. Opal,” Bede said softly. “You’ll see me again.” He noticed how young she still looked at this time, when her hair hadn’t even turned grey yet. “It’ll take you a while, but I know you’ll wait and wait for as long as it takes until you and I find each other.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi departed from Magnolia and Opal with a flash of light, and with another, it reappeared before Bede. It reached out to touch one hand to his face, and he realized that he too had been crying. Bede sniffed, hiding a small smile behind his sleeve.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I get it now, Celebi. What she meant by her story becoming mine. Our paths have crossed before. We’re connected way beyond accident and coincidence. Ms. Opal and I...we are so alike. We’re meant to be each other’s family. And I’m meant to succeed her as the next Fairy type Gym Leader.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Bi!” The Pokemon nodded in affirmation, happy that the journey through time, as long and difficult as it was, led Bede to this understanding. It made a wide sweep of its arms, as if drawing out a rainbow, then offered its hands.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede tried to figure out what it was saying. “We...we’re going back now? Back to the present, I mean?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi nodded again. Before taking its hands, Bede snuck one last glance at Opal, who stared up after where Celebi had disappeared from her sight. The smile on her face may be faint, but it brimmed with hope.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It was time to head back where he belonged, where he and Opal would see each other again.</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Musical inspiration (especially the future scene): “Time” from Inception. This wraps up Bede’s blast to Opal’s past. On to the final stretch in the present!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Moving Forward</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Forty something years forward to the present was quite the jump. Within the stretch of moments he and Celebi were enveloped in light, Bede had time to think. He thought that the first thing he ought to do when he saw Opal was to give her the biggest hug. She deserved it.</p><p>He expected Opal, stooped, aged, and white-haired, to receive his return with a wide smile on her face and open arms, and pester him for his thoughts on the trip.</p><p>Instead, when the light faded, he found Opal falling to her knees. She fell facedown onto the forest floor before he could run up to catch her. Startled cries from Bede and Celebi didn’t make her stir. Her teal-colored hat, the “Claydol hat” as Bede would call it, had fallen away from her head, and one hand was still on her parasol.</p><p>Bede reached out with trembling hands to shake her shoulders. “Ms. Opal, it’s me, Bede! I’m back! Wake up!” </p><p>Celebi flitted down and tried to lift her free hand with several tugs, but each time her hand fell limp back to the ground. The time-traveling Pokemon frowned and its antennas drooped. </p><p>“Ms. Opal, please, you gotta wake up!” Fear made Bede’s voice crack and jump an octave.</p><p>What could have happened while he was away? Didn’t she tell him that barely a second would go by, no matter how much time he spent in the past? How could this have all happened in a split of a second?</p><p>Bede froze in panic for a few terrible moments. He didn’t know what to do. Should he move Opal to a more comfortable position, or would that make it worse? He gripped her bony wrist. A pulse. She was still alive. A wave of relief hit him, but it soon ebbed away when he realized that he was just as good as a sitting Psyduck in this kind of situation.</p><p>There was one thing he knew he could do to help. He had to call the people who’d know exactly what to do, and maybe know what had happened. He scrambled for the Rotom phone in his pocket and dialed the regional emergency number.</p><p></p><div>
  <p>Help came in five minutes. Faster than he thought. The sound of approaching footsteps and a clamor of urgent voices sent Celebi into hiding. It ducked out of sight into the undergrowth just as medics dressed in red and white burst into the scene and surrounded Opal.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede was left out of their huddle as they bent over her and attempted to rouse her just as he had, except they gently rolled her over on her back, and a medic rubbed his knuckles firmly on the middle of her chest. Opal grimaced, let out a weak groan, and her arms curled in.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Indignity sharpened Bede’s voice. “Hey, you’re hurting her!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Relax, kid,” a medic said with seasoned patience. “It’s called a sternum rub. It’s the only way to wake up someone when shouting at them doesn’t do the trick.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh, okay,” he mumbled. He should stay out of the way. Let the professionals do their job. But seeing her so fragile and limp, and in pain, activated a protective instinct he didn’t know he had within him.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The medics tried to get Opal to stay awake and talk, but her eyes kept fluttering shut and attempted replies to the medics’ questions came out unfinished and slurred, as if she had taken a long nap. That couldn’t be good, right?</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede mustered up courage to ask, “Wh-what happened to her?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>One of the medics turned to him with a shake of her head. “Don’t know for sure, but we suspect a stroke.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede felt his blood run cold. “A stroke?” Wasn’t that what her father had? He went into a coma from that, and he never woke up. Bede’s heart thundered against his chest, blood pounded in his eardrums, and suddenly the air felt thin and not enough to fill his lungs. With one hand he retrieved Opal’s fallen hat from the ground, and with the other he gripped the stalk of a large, glowing mushroom to keep steady.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“She has family back home,” he said to the medics. “I gotta tell them what happened.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>By family, of course, he meant her Pokemon. Bede took off on swift feet back to Opal’s house, somehow not passing out along the way, and told them the news.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The Pokemon made sounds of distress and exchanged worried looks. Though scared out of his mind himself, Bede held up his hands in an attempt to calm them.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I can’t take more than six Pokemon at once, but then again, Opal’s got my team with her. So I can take you with me to wherever she needs to go.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Weezing, Togekiss, and Alcremie jumped at his offer. Her Mawile, now his, was already in a ball with her. While Bede stowed away three of her Pokemon in their Poke balls, Mightyena and Obstagoon shook their heads at him.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede understood. “You feel like you need to stay behind and protect the house, right?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Mightyena made a gruff bark in reply. He thought so. He didn’t need Celebi’s telepathy to understand them this time. Obstagoon rummaged through a drawer of the nightstand in the living room, and handed Bede a sheet of paper folded into thirds. His name was on it. Bede opened it with shaking hands to reveal a letter written in Opal’s large, loopy handwriting.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Dear Bede,</p>
</div><div>
  <p>In the sudden (though not unexpected) event of whatever commonly befalls frail old folk like myself, and I’m unable to communicate, please contact my next of kin for further support and guidance. The phone number I’ve written below is how you can reach her. She is quite a busy woman, but she knows to always respond without exception to this number.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Love,</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede folded the letter back up and clutched it to his chest with Opal’s hat as he ran out of her house. Mightyena and Obstagoon stepped into the front yard to watch him leave. Bede gave them a grateful nod before running off.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The medics had arrived by helicopter. It wasn’t hard to track down its presence. Bede followed the choppy thrum of its blades to the Gym stadium—the only spot in town with enough room for a landing. Already some of the townspeople gathered around the Gym, murmuring and wondering aloud among themselves about what was going on. Medics carrying Opal on a stretcher slowly made their way to the helicopter. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede shouldered aside the crowd starting to swell around the sight, and called out, “Hey, where are you taking her?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“She’s not looking too good,” a medic said grimly. “The tiny clinic here in town won’t do. We have to fly her straight to the medical center at Hammerlocke.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Take me with you,” Bede insisted. “Please.” Standing so close to the whir of the helicopter tugged back his hair and sent welled up tears down his cheeks. “She can’t go alone. I have to be there for her.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The medic looked down at him with pity. “All right, kid. Climb aboard.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Hands full with Opal’s hat and Poke balls containing her Pokemon, Bede was pulled into the helicopter by a pair of medics, who had strong, firm grips on his upper arms. He thought of Celebi as he joined them. That painfully shy Pokemon wouldn’t come out during this whole commotion, let alone on a large, scary-sounding transport like a helicopter. He didn’t have time to tell it thanks. He resolved to come back to Ballonlea Town to do that, and bring Opal with him. Opal...at least she wasn’t conscious to see that she would be flown to Hammerlocke. She hadn’t flown in anything since the Flying Taxi steered by her brother. She would really hate the trip now. That made Bede crack a smile despite the circumstances. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>As he got himself situated inside the rising helicopter, Bede furiously scrubbed his face dry and on his Rotom phone, he put in the number written out under Opal’s name. He had to dial an extension he didn’t recognize. Somewhere outside the region.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Then Bede sat there holding his Rotom phone helplessly. The loading screen seemed to stay on forever. Finally, a young woman showed up on the screen and, thankfully, so did her reply in subtitles, since the helicopter would drown out whatever she was saying. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“<em>Bonjour</em>. This is Diantha. Who am I speaking with?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede tried to hold the receiver steady. “H-hi, this is Bede. Something crazy happened to Ms. Opal—she just collapsed—I-I don’t know from what, but the medics think she had a stroke. She’s being flown to Hammerlocke. I was told to call you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Diantha’s thick, dark eyebrows shot up before knitting together with concern. “Ah, Bede, yes, Opal told me about you. Hammerlocke...the medical center, <em>non</em>? <em>Tres bien</em>, I’ll be there as soon as I can, a day from now at the earliest. I’ll see you, then. Please take care.” Her face disappeared as she hung up.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>At the Hammerlocke Hospital, Bede was assaulted by a whirlwind of orders and explanations from the doctors and nurses. Or rather, attempts at explanations. Bede could barely make sense of the medical jargon thrown at him. What he <em>did</em> get was that the doctors found bleeding in Opal’s brain, and that she needed an operation right away. Something about cutting her head open, taking off part of her skull, scary things like that.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede had to sit down. His legs were too weak for him to pace up and down the waiting room. All the while he kept a tight, white-knuckled grip on her hat. Hours stretched by as the operation went on, but his nerves were too frayed for sleep to cross his mind. He let out Opal’s Pokemon from their balls, so that their company made the wait a bit less torturous. He steeled himself for seeing her out of surgery. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Still, he flinched when the doctor in charge of her operation called for him and motioned at him to follow. Bede trailed along on numb feet, and inched his way into the ICU room that held Opal.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>A machine breathed for her. All her curly white hair had been shaved off. A thick, dark line of stitches ran through the back of her smooth, bare head, and attached along that line was a tube filled with blood to be drained. The sight of it all made Bede woozy and weak at the knees. Then he grit his teeth and forced himself to look at her until he got used to it. Opal made it out of surgery. That was what mattered.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Hours had passed since the phone call with Diantha, but she wasn’t here yet, and she didn’t call back. Bede ended up staying overnight in Hammerlocke, in the ICU, with Opal. Though the room had one bed available, he couldn’t find any rest. He spent all night huddled upright on the bed, shivering under his jacket and blanket. The next morning, Opal didn’t stir in her hospital bed. Only the beeping monitors gave Bede any hint that she still had life within her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede peeked outside the ICU room to see a young woman walking down the hall toward him. She was attractive and well-dressed, with dark brown hair in a chic cut and tied up in a bun. She was also familiar. That had to be Diantha, he thought. A Gardevoir quietly flanked her. She met Bede’s eyes and quickened her pace until she stopped a few feet away.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Ah, this must be Opal’s room. And you must be Bede. How are you?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Now that Bede was away from the noise of the helicopter, he could hear Diantha’s pleasant, almost musical foreign accent.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Not doing so great,” he admitted. “I couldn’t sleep last night.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh, me neither. I couldn’t sleep a wink through my entire flight. I flew in here all the way from Lumiose City.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede blinked bleary eyes at her. Early morning made his mind run like a Slowpoke. “Lumiose? Where’s that?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“In Kalos.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh.” That explained the accent. He had never met anyone from Kalos before. Until now, that is. “You <em>did</em> come a long way.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Diantha’s blue eyes filled with regret and sympathy. “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t make it here sooner. You must’ve had a very rough time.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I’ll be okay,” Bede said gruffly, and squared his shoulders in a futile attempt to look like he had it under control. Then he remembered why Diantha was here in the first place. “You must want to see Ms. Opal. She’s still sleeping.” He parted the room’s curtains to let her through.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Diantha walked through murmuring her thanks, then fell silent as she laid eyes on Opal. Her lips thinned to a tight line and her hand curled into a fist over her chest. Bede turned away and stepped aside to give Diantha some private time with Opal. He smoothed the blankets of his makeshift bed over and over while, out of the corner of his eye, Diantha leaned over the bedside to say something softly to Opal and hold her hand.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede was hoping that Opal would wake up. Instead Diantha pulled away to dry her wet eyes with the back of her hand.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Gardevoir had remained silent by Diantha’s side until it uttered a soft cry of sympathy. Diantha rested her forehead against the Pokemon’s green head for a moment. Clearly the two were close.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I have one, too,” Bede said to Diantha. “A Gardevoir, I mean.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Do you?” She smiled and winked at him. “Then you have excellent taste in Pokemon.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“But mine doesn’t have that fancy necklace.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It’s called a mega stone.” Diantha fingered at the pendant around her own neck. “This is a key stone. Together they let my Gardevoir mega evolve.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede blinked in bewilderment. “Mega evolve? Never heard of that before.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Mega evolution is a signature style of Pokemon battling in Kalos, like how Gigantamaxing is the style here in Galar.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh. There’s a lot I still have to learn.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede was taken aback by the words that had just left his mouth. Before he met Opal, he had felt and acted like he knew it all. The old Bede never would have accepted needing to learn more. Being taught under Opal’s vastly superior experience in not just Pokemon battling, but in life, had put him in his place. If he was proud to say that he wasn’t an arrogant prick anymore, did that still make him arrogant?</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede and Diantha sat next to each other and across Opal’s bedside. Talking about other things with Diantha helped take Bede’s mind off of worrying over Opal. Diantha was shocked that he had never heard of her before. He, in turn, was amazed to find out what kind of work she did in her region.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“No way. You’re the Champion <em>and</em> a movie star?” Bede bit back the urge to add “bloody hell.” Instead he said, “How do you make that work, Miss Diantha?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The young woman chuckled at his awed reaction. “Just Diantha is fine. Anyways, I do it out of love, so it’s really not work at all.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Wow. Ms. Opal’s got quite the family.” Bede regarded her with curiosity. “She mentioned you in a letter about being her next of kin. How are you related to her?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“She’s my great-aunt.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh.” Bede’s eyes widened as he fit the puzzle pieces together. “Randall is your grandfather.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Diantha mirrored his surprise. “Why, yes. How did you know that?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede wasn’t sure of how to explain his time travel with Celebi in just a few words. His cheeks warmed and he looked away. “It’s...sort of a long story.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Opal must trust you a great deal to tell you about her family. She’s quite secretive about that kind of thing.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yeah. She really opened up to me.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It’s amazing how she had been managing her own for so long. My grandfather moved to Kalos sixty-one years ago. A long time to be living all by yourself.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It sure is.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Diantha’s face took on a somber expression as she tilted her chin to the side and stared ahead. “I’ve been on my own too, though for not as long. I was ten when cancer took my mother, and my father followed suit by drinking himself to death. I never knew my grandfather. He died from pneumonia before I was born. My grandmother looked after me until she passed away when I turned eighteen. Not counting my Pokemon, Opal is the only family I have left.” Diantha’s eyes softened with fondness as her gaze rested on the unconscious old woman. “She had been such an inspiration to me. She is the reason why I became an actress, in fact. Even though we are regions apart, I learned from the best.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Like great-aunt, like great-niece, I guess.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She chuckled. “That’s right.” Diantha rested a hand on Bede’s shoulder. “But she doesn’t have just me anymore. She has you, too. The son she could’ve had.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede thought of Jasper, long dead and long gone, and how close Opal might be to finally seeing her five year-old boy again, and tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Diantha softened her voice. “If it comes down to the worst, Bede...if Opal doesn’t...well, make it...I can look after you and continue your training. I promised that to her. I’m willing to leave behind my acting career and Champion position in Kalos to resettle in Galar. I can teach you to become a Champion, if you want.” She smiled at him. “I <em>am</em> one, after all.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede considered what she had to offer. She sounded quite serious and sincere. “There was a time when I wanted nothing more than to become the Champion,” he admitted. “But that kooky old lady came around and turned my life upside down. Things are different now. Galar already has a Champion. Ballonlea Town needs a new Gym Leader.” He smiled back at Diantha. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m gonna stick to what Ms. Opal wants out of me.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The Kalos Champion regarded him with respect. “She chose well. You really are her worthy successor.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her compliment made giddy warmth bubble up inside him, and he tried hard to hide it by making a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t want to put you through the trouble of uprooting your whole acting-Champion gig.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>A smirk pulled at the corner of Diantha’s lips. “You’d hardly uproot anything, Bede. I’ve been itching to move on to new roles, actually. I don’t want to defend my Champion title for years and years. That would get stale for me. I’m looking for a promising young Trainer to dethrone me soon. And I’m getting tired of the same kinds of movies and characters my agent tries to land for me. Beauty and youth don’t last forever.” A thin cloud of wistfulness settled over Diantha’s eyes. “I want to age gracefully and live fully, just like my great-aunt. I would like to play new kinds of characters and star in other kinds of movies.” Diantha giggled behind her hand. “I would love to play a crotchety, sassy old lady someday. I think that would be a lot of fun.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede crossed his arms over his chest, fighting back a shiver. “You aren’t scared of moving on to something new?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It won’t be easy, I’ll admit. Moving on will take some getting used to. But don’t worry about where you’ll go from here, Bede. Every time I’m on the phone with Opal, she speaks highly of you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He quirked an eyebrow. “Really?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Well, in between calling you a little rascal or a cheeky scoundrel.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede laughed. “Now that sounds more like her.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>A soft groan issuing from the bed shut him up. Bede and Diantha abruptly rose from their seats to lean over the bedside.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Auntie?” Diantha asked breathlessly. “Are you awake?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal slowly blinked her eyelids, her gaze distant and confused. Her speech came out slightly slurred. “Bede? Diantha? I see you two have gotten acquainted.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Ms. Opal!” Bede reached over the bed railing to squeeze her hand. Hit by a tidal wave of emotions, he struggled to bite back sobs. “You really scared me back there. I thought you...you had...”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh, Bede, my boy. I’m sorry to give you such a fright.” Opal lifted a trembling hand to pat his wet cheek. “I’ll try my best not to do that again.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede angled himself over the bed even further to give her a long overdue hug. He couldn’t hold onto her as firmly as he wanted, because of all the tubes connected to her and how weak she was. Still, he hoped she could feel all the love and sympathy he poured out to her from the bottom of his heart. Maybe she felt all that, because she wrapped her thin arms around him and returned the hug the best she could.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Diantha evidently didn’t want to ruin the moment, because once Bede pulled back from Opal, she moved away from the bed and broke the silence by saying, “I’ll tell the critical care team that you’re awake, Auntie. They’ll want to know.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede remained at Opal’s bedside, keeping her frail, thin hand in his grip. “You know where we are, Ms. Opal?”</p>
  <p>She squinted in concentration, but gave up as she sank her shaved, stitched-up head further into the pillow. “Afraid not. Feels like I’m swimming in a fog.”</p>
  <p>”We’re in Hammerlocke. The city where we met. Where you found me, actually. We’ve met before.”</p>
  <p>”Yes. Yes, we have.” Her long-term memory was still intact.</p>
  <p>That made Bede smile with relief.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“How are you getting along with Diantha?” She asked. “What do you think of her?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He was so glad to hear the old woman talking again. “She...she’s quite something. You two are family, all right.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, and so are you.” Then Opal sucked in a small gasp and her eyes widened for a moment. “You were going to tell me about your trip before this whole mess, weren’t you? What did you think of younger me? Was I cool?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>That made Bede almost laugh. “Yeah, you were the coolest Gym Leader.” Then he added, “You still are.”</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Leaving Hammerlocke and coming back to Ballonlea Town hit Bede with a bigger sense of belonging than he had expected. It had been years since he had a real home. Even better than coming home was coming home with Opal. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>The stroke spared her ability to speak, but the left side of her body wasn’t working anymore. She couldn’t feel anything on that side, and her left arm and leg were useless. The surgery may have saved her life, but what remained of it would never be the same again.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“No more morning walks with Mightyena,” she said with a sigh, but besides that, she took her losses with as much stride and grace as she could muster.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal chose to be moved back to her home in Ballonlea Town over hospice care, much like her father had decades ago. Diantha was taking a break after shooting her latest movie, so she was in no hurry to be back in Kalos. She helped Bede provide around-the-clock care, especially when Opal needed help with changing her clothes or using the bathroom. He came to see Diantha as a cool big sister. It helped that their Gardevoirs became good friends since the day their Trainers had met.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>On days that Bede needed distraction and blood pumping through his veins, he would have matches with Diantha at the Gym stadium. Just because she was looking for someone to beat her didn’t mean she fought like a pushover. To put it all into perspective, Diantha was considered the “easiest” Champion, having lost only to fellow Champions like Cynthia from the Sinnoh region. Well, the “easiest” Champion still proved hard as hell to beat for an up-and-coming Trainer like Bede. His entire team barely put a dent in her ace Pokemon, Gardevoir. On a particularly good weekend he was able to knock out her Tyrantrum and Hawlucha, but that was as far as his progress went against her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Other ways to distract himself included taking up the morning walks with Mightyena and the occasional canter through Glimwood Tangle with his Rapidash. Bede made extra sure that he followed all the safety measures, and chose not to let Opal know about the rides. If she knew, she would throw a fit. And probably say something like “have you learned nothing from seeing how I broke my bloody back?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>After years and years of doing it, Opal no longer asked the quiz questions. Bede took over from her. Every morning after walking with Mightyena began with the same questionnaire:</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“What is your favorite color, purple or pink?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Purple, of course.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Why not pink?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Because that’s what I like in other people, but not for myself.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Okay, what’s your nickname? The magic-user or the wizard?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Easy. The wizard.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Last question: how old are you? 16 or 88?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“16!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Well, she certainly didn’t hesitate on the last one. Bede would break out into a wide grin at that. This Q&amp;A became a daily routine for him and Opal, to make sure that she still had a mind as sharp and quick as a Vine Whip. Opal forgetting the answers to her own quiz questions would really make him worry. Diantha had told him that the stroke could deteriorate Opal’s ability to think and remember, so he took this responsibility very seriously.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal could no longer walk around and stand for hours at a time, so baking pastries and sweet treats in the kitchen fell onto Bede’s shoulders. He had learned recipes from her before they met Celebi. He would serve Opal her favorite snacks in addition to the meals he’d deliver on a tray to her bed.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She would shamelessly dig into the confections, and he would give her as much as her sweet tooth desired. At this point, having too much sugar was no longer a cause for concern.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Visitors flocked to Opal’s house, but just like at the Hammerlocke Hospital, Bede and Diantha acted as gatekeepers so that only close friends and acquaintances could come in to actually see her. They didn’t want her to get overwhelmed. She had moved into this secluded, charming little town all those years ago for that reason.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The Gym Leaders and Professor Magnolia counted among those close friends and acquaintances. Even Mustard, now spending his retirement at the Isle of Armor, popped by for a visit.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The farthest Opal could walk was the span of the living room, which wasn’t much, and even with Bede and Diantha’s support that would wear her out, but visits from good friends, especially old friends, always seemed to perk her up.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>One day Magnolia came with her granddaughter, Sonia—a double delight for Opal.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You look so much like your grandmum when she was your age,” Opal said to Sonia. “Congratulations on the publication of your book, by the way! I’ve had Bede read it to me before I go to bed.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Sonia’s cheeks flushed at that. “You’re much too kind, ma’am.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Your grandmum must be so proud of you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Indeed, I am,” Magnolia said fondly. “And I’m sure you must be very proud of Bede, as well. Every time I come over, he has been doing such a good job taking care of you, Opal.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It was Bede’s turn to blush. “It’s the least I could do. She has already done so much for me.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Magnolia’s granddaughter beamed at him. “You sure have come a long way since we last saw each other, Bede.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She didn’t go on to elaborate, perhaps to spare him of the embarrassment, but of course Bede couldn’t forget how their paths last crossed when he had used the chairman’s Copperajah to demolish the mural at Stow-On-Side. That wasn’t something he remembered with pride.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Did you know that I mentioned you in my acknowledgements?” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede scrunched up his face in confusion. “You did? Why?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Whether you meant to or not, you unearthed a key part of Galar’s history and got me diving even deeper into my search for the truth.” Sonia shook his hand. “I owe you my thanks.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You’re giving me too much credit,” he mumbled.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It’s fate that everything happened the way it did,” she insisted.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Sonia had a point. That was what he had learned during his journey with Celebi through time.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi wasn’t brave enough to flit around Opal’s house, since visitors often came by. Bede could only see the time-traveling Pokemon when he went out of his way to meet it at the clearing of yellow mushrooms. He made sure to bring cheri berry pie each time, made just the way Opal had done it and Celebi liked it. On one sprinkling afternoon, even though Bede had kept the pie covered and warm, Celebi only nibbled at it instead of making quick work of eating all of it like usual.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“What’s wrong, Celebi?” He asked. “Why do you look so down?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Bi...” It lifted its wide, somber gaze from the pie to the direction of Opal’s house.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yeah, she’s not well enough to come see you anymore, but she thinks of you all the—“</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi rested a hand on his cheek. A sharp flash of understanding and a pang in his chest almost made him drop the unfinished pie.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“She...she’s not going to be around for much longer? That’s what you’ve seen?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi was a Psychic type Pokemon, after all. Of course it would have foresight. Still, the truth was hard to accept. His hands shook and he tried not to curl up into a ball on the damp forest floor. Much as he and Diantha did their very best to look after Opal, he couldn’t deny how much weaker she was getting with each day. This morning, for the first time, she couldn’t answer every quiz question right.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede’s voice trembled. “How...how much longer does she have?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi touched his cheek again.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>His vision blurred with tears. “A week from today, that’s it?” The knowledge frightened him at first, but he came away feeling grateful to know for certain from Celebi. He would hate for Opal to pass on when he didn’t expect it. When he didn’t get the chance to say thank you and good-bye. He returned home, wet from the light rain, to pass on the news to Diantha.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She reacted by pulling him into a hug, despite getting the rain damp on her clothes. “If you know that from Celebi, then we have no reason to doubt it,” she murmured.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede gripped the fabric of her coat over the small of her back, keeping his voice as low as hers. “Do we have to tell her too?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I...I think she already knows in her own way. She’s been showing me photos of the family she lost so long ago, photos of my grandfather who I’ve never met. Lately we’ve been talking about what would be done about the Ballonlea theatre. She wants me to take over running it.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I think you should,” Bede said. “I don’t know a thing about acting. She never gave me that kind of training, so I don’t think she expects me to run the stage.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Diantha smiled. “Well, since you’re okay with that too, then we can be co-runners of the place. You handle the battles while I handle the plays.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“So it’s official, then? You’re giving up being the Champion of Kalos? But you haven’t lost to anyone recently.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The next smile she gave him was bittersweet. “I don’t think this family matter gives me the luxury of waiting around long enough for someone to beat me. The time to act is now.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede and Diantha may not have told Opal when her time was up, but they informed her circle of friends, so they could make their farewells without outright saying that they were such.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>On a rare day that all their schedules aligned for a free slot, the Gym Leaders gathered as a group rather than one at a time to see Opal. And not just her. Bede, too. They drew him aside at the front yard of her house.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It was Melony who led him outside with a motherly hand on his shoulder. “Bede, dear, we have something important we’d like to tell you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Raihan rubbed a hand behind his head. “We’ve known Opal for our entire careers as Gym Leaders. She was alive before any of us were even born. We took it for granted that she would be with us for a while.” The Adam’s apple in his throat bobbed. “Hearing about Opal’s days being numbered...it’s a tough pill to swallow. So we wanted to let you know that when she...you know...aww, how do I put it?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kabu gently took over. “Opal put her faith in you to become a Gym Leader, Bede, as she had with me. You’ve practically succeeded her already. The look in your eyes tells me that she has shown and taught you everything you need to know. You are a Gym Leader, so that makes you one of us.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You are part of our family,” Milo said.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede’s eyes grew wide. “Family...?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“That’s right,” Gordie said. “Don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us if you need anything.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“We may be all spread out, but we’re just a call or a Flying Taxi away,” Marnie said.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Some of us won’t be very far at all,” Allister murmured from behind his mask, and Bea nodded in silent agreement.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You’ve got us,” Nessa said. “Don’t forget that.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Tears threatened to run down Bede’s cheeks. “Th-thanks, everyone. It means a lot.” To gain a bunch of new and esteemed family members, just like that, was overwhelming. He couldn’t believe it, yet here they were offering their support to him and calling him one of their own. It was more than he had ever hoped for or dreamed of. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal wasn’t going to leave him to be alone again. She would leave him in the hands of a new family.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Musical inspiration for this chapter: “Married Life” from Up.</p><p>I feel like I’m one of the few in the Pokemon fandom who actually likes Diantha. It probably helps that she’s based on one of my heroes: the elegant and inimitable Audrey Hepburn.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Inheritance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Social media exploded when Diantha publicized her resignation as the Champion of Kalos and announced that she would move to Galar.</p><p>“Even on better days, I have no time to look through all the inquiries and comments,” she said to Bede as she shut off her phone and stuffed it firmly to the bottom of her purse. “I insisted that I won’t be taking interviews any time soon. I hope everyone respects my need for privacy.”</p><p>Bede rolled up his sleeve. “Don’t worry, my Pokemon and I will take care of anyone who won’t.”</p><p>She smiled. “That’s so kind of you, but I hope you’re not too serious about that. You need time with Opal as much as I do.”</p><p>While the former Champion of Kalos had resolved to set aside her phone for a while, Bede busied over his. “I’ll tell my fellow Gym Leaders to keep an eye out for anyone nosing into our business.”</p><p>He had all of their phone numbers now. They were just a call or a text away, as they had promised, and the thought of them having his back comforted him. As the days of the last week ticked by, Bede was bracing himself for the last day, for the time that he would have to say good-bye. </p><p></p><div>
  <p>He and Diantha strived to make Opal as comfortable as possible. Halfway through the week, she couldn’t get out of bed even with support from the two of them.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>At that point, Professor Magnolia was the only visitor allowed inside the house, because Opal would ask for her company during teatime.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Because her hand was too shaky to handle hot tea, Bede stuck around to help her guide the cup to her mouth. “Lately there’s been a fog over my memory, like a soft thick blanket I can’t see through,” Opal told Magnolia. “Sometimes, though, there would be rays of sun shining down, so I could see. Like the day we had met, when we had a Gym match, and I showed you the Impidimps, and you came up with the name for my son.” The stroke kept Opal from curling up both corners of her lips when she tried to smile. “I’ll always remember times like that. You were there for a lot of those sunny spots, Mag. Thank you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The teacup trembled in Magnolia’s hand, though not from a stroke. The professor’s eyes watered behind her thick spectacles. “It’s an honor to have been your friend for so long.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal rested her good hand over Magnolia’s, and the two elderly woman said nothing for a while. As quietly as he could, Bede took the empty cups of tea from them and drew back into the kitchen.</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede and Diantha’s routine to make Opal comfortable in her home was interrupted by Opal herself.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“My dears, would be so kind to help me outside to the living room?” she asked them. “Park me right by the fireplace.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede frowned. “Are you cold, Ms. Opal?” She couldn’t be. She always had a fluffy coat around her, and blankets never too far out of reach.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh no, my boy, I’m as snug as a Charjabug. I’d like to be by the fireplace nevertheless.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>When they did as she had asked, she motioned with her good hand to the shelf near the kitchen. “Diantha, please bring me that unlabeled binder by my mum’s manual.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“What’s in here, Auntie?” the former Champion asked as she brought it over.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Scripts for plays that my husband never finished,” Opal murmured. “Sometimes, when I was younger, I’d pull it out of the shelf and try to finish them myself.” She chuckled. “I couldn’t even get through reading them without crying, though. I couldn’t bring myself to touch his work. So I left them tucked away in that shelf for years and years.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You’ve decided what to do with them now?” Bede asked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes. Burn them.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He gasped, and Diantha said, “But Auntie...”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You heard me right.” Opal kept her voice low and calm. “I haven’t gone off my rocker. I know what I’m doing, and I want them burned. I don’t think of it so much as destroying my husband’s work, but sending it up to him, so we can work on them together when I see him again. And I’ll be seeing him soon.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede tried to blink mist out of his eyes as he started up the fire. Then he helped Diantha strip the binder of its contents, taking turns with her to carefully toss small stacks of paper into the flames. Roger’s incomplete stories blackened, curled, and crumbled away. Bede watched this along with Opal, figuring that she could be seeing words go up in smoke somehow.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It took visible effort for Opal to then turn her gaze toward Diantha kneeling beside her. “As for the scripts he <em>did</em> finish, I trust that you will do a good job bringing them to life on stage, in my place.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Diantha clasped her great-aunt’s thin, withered hand. “You can leave it to me. The show at Ballonlea Theatre will go on. That’s a solemn promise, from actress to actress.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede felt a surge of gratitude towards the former Champion of Kalos. The theatre could not ask for a better successor. He couldn’t make that same promise to Opal. What he could do was become the Gym Leader Opal wanted him to be.</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>He became an expert at tucking Opal into bed. He didn’t need Diantha’s help for that. On a rainy night, the night before her time to go tomorrow as Celebi predicted, he fought to get the words “good night” out of his mouth. His throat closed up and the words felt dammed up behind it.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Before he could get them out, Opal said, “Bede, I need ask of you an important favor.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Uh, sure.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Be a dear and fetch the letter from the drawer in my nightstand, will you?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He did as she asked, but she didn’t stop there. He handed Opal the letter, but with a raised trembling hand, she gently pushed it back toward him and said, “Would you mind reading it out loud to me? My sight’s been spotty lately.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede opened up the folded paper, and the name he saw scrawled at the end made his breath hitch in his throat. The note from Kestrel. His last words before he had taken his own life in prison. For decades that note sat unopened.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He looked up at her. “Are you sure you want to—“</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, I’m sure.” Opal closed her eyes and leaned back into her pillows. “I think I’m finally ready to hear what my little brother wanted to tell me all those years ago.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She looked like she was about to go to sleep, but Bede knew that she would listen with rapt attention as he edged near the glow of the nightstand lamp and dropped his gaze back to the letter.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Dear Opal,</p>
</div><div>
  <p>I don’t know where to begin. I don’t even know if you’ll ever read this. I have to say something, nonetheless. My sentence is almost up, but done as it may almost be in the eyes of the law, I know that it wouldn’t ever be done in your eyes.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>In the isolation of my cell, I try to think back to happier times: sharing stories of wanderlust and adventure with my brother in-law, and letting my nephew fly on the wings of my Pidgeot. It’s my fault that I dashed all of those to the ground, that I destroyed every chance to make more of those happy times. Most of my fellow prisoners look forward to the day they’re released. Not me. I dread it. Actually, I wish I could stay locked up in here forever. I wish for that, because I know that when I’m a free man, I would never be able to look at you in the eye. Would you be able to look at me in the eye, Opal? Speak to me again? Let me back into Ballonlea Town, back into your life? I don’t know, and I won’t ask. I’m afraid to find out your answers to these questions.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>There isn’t enough space in this paper, in this whole world, really, to tell you just how sorry I am for everything I have done. I’m sorry, Roger. I’m sorry, Jasper. I’m sorry, Randall. And I’m sorry, Opal. I’m not asking for your forgiveness. I don’t deserve it. This is good-bye.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>All my love, regrets, and sympathies,</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kestrel”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede set the letter aside on the nightstand. Opal didn’t move or say anything. The only sign of life from her were tears welling in her eyes and running down her cheeks. Bede pulled out the corner of a blanket and reached over to dab her face dry.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I forgive you, Kes,” she whispered. “After all these years, I finally forgive you.” She smiled up at Bede. “Thank you for reading that letter to me. I think I’m ready to call it a night now.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Good night, Ms. Opal.” He bent down to peck her cheek. “See you tomorrow morning.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, see you tomorrow,” she assured him.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>With that, Bede went to bed sleeping easier than he had thought.</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>He roamed the house to throw open all the curtains. Morning in the canopy-covered Ballonlea Town wasn’t streaming in sunlight, but the rain from last night had stopped to leave fat drops all over the windows. Several light taps sounded from the front door. Bede jumped. Mightyena and Obstagoon stirred from their sleeping places in the living room, then they quickly joined Bede as he trudged up to the door with a frown. An unwanted visitor? He braced himself for the obligation to chase away whoever had the nerve to stick their nose where they shouldn’t.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He cracked the door open, then stepped back in disbelief. “Celebi? You came!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Bi.” The time-traveling Pokemon hovered before him at eye level.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede drew back to let Celebi inside while patting Mightyena and Obstagoon. “It’s okay, Celebi’s a friend,” he told the Dark type Pokemon. “It’s here to—“ He choked up, then went on in a small voice, “It’s here to say goodbye to Opal.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Who’s that at the door?” Diantha stumbled out of her bedroom in her nightgown. Her eyes, heavily lidded from just waking up, went wide at the sight. “<em>Je n’y crois pas</em>,” she breathed.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I couldn’t believe it, either,” Bede replied. “But Celebi’s really here.” He had picked up a decent amount of Kalosian from Diantha since she’d been staying in Opal’s house.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He led Celebi into Opal’s room. To his relief, the old woman was blinking sleepiness out of her eyes. She didn’t sit up, though.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Celebi, so lovely to see you.” The cheerfulness in her voice outweighed the recent weakness for a moment.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi wouldn’t be the only Pokemon in the room. Mightyena and Obstagoon came in behind Bede and Diantha, and he released his entire team from their balls so they could surround the bed. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal let out a laugh that sounded more like a cough. “What a delightful crowd. You’re all making me feel like a celebrity again.” The merriment faded from her face as she schooled her features to a serious expression. “I didn’t want to leave you all without a few words first.” She paused before she went on, “People always wanted to know the secret behind how I lasted on earth for this long. For a while, I didn’t know the answer myself. It’s not like I’ve been the best at looking after my health. You’ve seen me over the years, Bede...I smoked like a chimney in Motostoke and love to eat my weight’s worth of sugary stuff. It’s not because of Fairy type Pokemon magic, either, as most people like to believe.” She reached out with a trembling hand to rest it over Bede’s. “It’s because of you. I waited for you to come along. I had to wait for a bloody long time. At one point, I feared that I would never find the Gym Leader to succeed me, but you came after all, like a burst of bright pink after years and years of darkness. That was worth the wait.” Opal tried to smile up at him. “When I’m gone, and people still wonder how I had lived for as long as I did, tell them that the reason is you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>With a huge lump in his throat, Bede managed a wordless nod.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Now I need to give you some last-minute life lessons, in case you didn’t get them the first time around from your trip with Celebi.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He already knew, but he wanted to keep hearing her talk. He couldn’t bear to think of her being forever silent and still within minutes, or hours, or however long it took for death to come for people her age. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Diantha, you may have not traveled with Celebi through time, but you need to hear this, too.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede gently squeezed Opal’s hand, silently prompting her to go on.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Don’t be like me and let anger and loneliness eat up your life. Surround yourself with people and Pokemon you love and trust. Accept kindness and friendship when they’re offered to you. You two are still so young, with your whole lives ahead of you. Or maybe you don’t, like Roger and Jasper. You never know. Either way, if you cut yourself off from the world, you either don’t live long enough to have that chance to turn around, or you live long enough to regret it.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede and Diantha shared gazes glittering with wetness before they turned back to Opal and nodded. He had seen how Opal’s vindictive rage had led to the destruction of her younger brother, and the near-destruction of herself. He was determined not to follow Opal down that kind of dark path.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The old woman sighed and closed her eyes. “I think I’ve said everything I wanted to say. I will leave this world in peace, knowing that the Gym and theatre of Ballonlea Town are in good hands.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Tears that had welled up ran down Bede’s cheeks as he squeezed his eyes shut. He knew he had to let her go. There was nothing he could do to stop that. So he had better get this out before it was too late. Bede leaned in to wrap his arms around Opal as tenderly and delicately as he could. “I love you,” he croaked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I love you too,” she murmured.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede couldn’t stop his shoulders from shaking as he kept his arms around Opal and wept into the pillow. Diantha rested a hand on his back, and when he turned his head to peek over his shoulder, he saw that she had the other hand pressed over her eyes. Mightyena pressed its nose against Opal’s palm with a whine. Obstagoon placed a big dark paw over her arm. Togekiss, the only one light enough to sit on the mattress, snuggled at Opal’s side. The other Pokemon who couldn’t get on the bed huddled up beside each other, mourning quietly with Bede and Diantha. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Only Celebi didn’t have its head down. Instead it was looking up at something no one else could see.</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal felt herself leave her own body with the last breath that left her lips. Her heart didn’t have to beat anymore, yet it ached as she looked down at her grieving family. Bede, the poor boy, cried the hardest of them all. She joined Diantha in resting a comforting hand on him, even if he couldn’t feel it.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He would be all right, she told herself. He won’t be alone. He has a family now.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi was the only one who could see Opal in her new body. She smiled at it. “Thank you so much for bringing me and Bede together in the way only you know how.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Making no sound to avoid alarming the others, Celebi silently acknowledged Opal’s gratitude with a smile of its own and a nod.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Suddenly laughter drifted into Opal’s ears. A child’s laughter. But not just any child. Startled, she straightened up her back, which she hadn’t done in years. “Celebi, did you hear that?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Celebi gestured with its small green hand to the door, clearly encouraging Opal to follow the sound. She stepped away from her bedroom, the guilt of leaving Bede and Diantha behind eclipsed only by the drawing pull of laughter she hadn’t heard in so long. In her new body, Opal didn’t need to open the door to her house. She went straight through it. Who she saw just outside her door, laughing and skipping around in her front yard, sent the same thrilling bolt of wild joy that came with seeing Bede in Hammerlocke.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The little boy before her, dressed in the same suit he’d been buried with, stopped flapping his arms around like a bird Pokemon and smiled up at her. “Hello, Mummy.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal trembled from head to toe and blinked hard. “Jasper, is that really you?” He jumped into her arms, and she enveloped him in a tight, fierce hug. “My darling, my baby boy,” she whispered into his dark curls. And she broke down as she held him. Jasper clung onto her firmly yet patiently, never squirming around to be let go. Finally she put him down and looked at her hands, her bony, thin 88 year-old hands. “I-I’ve changed so much since you last saw me. It’s been so long. How did you know I’m your mum?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I just know,” he said matter-of-factly. “You’ll always be my mummy.” Jasper reached up to hold her hand. “Come on, I’ll take you to Daddy.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal gasped. “You know where your daddy is?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Uh-huh. He isn’t far.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal let her son take the lead. For a little five year-old in the woods filled with Fairy type Pokemon that liked to lead travelers astray, he really knew his way around. He skipped by her side and didn’t stop to look around like he was lost. In their past lives, Opal would be the one to hold her son firmly by the hand and lead him down the scenic trails, to make sure that he didn’t wander out of her sight.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Now it was Jasper guiding her, and she realized that he was taking the route to the Ballonlea Cemetery. They had to cross a bridge over a brook along the way, and as they did, Opal looked down to find her reflection no longer elderly and white-haired, but young and dark-haired again.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper looked over his shoulder and beamed at her new appearance. “That’s the mummy I remember.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She smiled back at him. “Just like old times.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The Ballonlea Cemetery was livelier than she had known it during all her prior visits. That was because she had only known it when she was alive. Now she saw departed spirits, just like herself, loitering around their headstones and enjoying the morning shade. Winston, the former butler at her family’s estate, bowed at her when she and Jasper passed by his headstone. Opal couldn’t help smiling at that. Old habits were hard to break, even in the afterlife.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Farther into the cemetery, Jasper broke away from Opal to run ahead. “Daddy, I’m back,” he called. “Look who I brought!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Out of sight, a familiar voice called back, “Jasper, you had me worried, running off on your own like that!” The owner of the voice stepped into view from behind a headstone.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal stopped right in her tracks, and though her heart could no longer skip beats, she found that she couldn’t speak. All she could manage to get out was the name of the man she had married for five years, and loved for many, many more. “Roger?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Opal.” He made a wide smile underneath his beard. “Welcome home.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She ran up to her husband and threw her arms around him. Like their son, Roger wore the suit that went down with his body during the funeral, though there was no smell of dust and decay to either of them. Instead they were bright and brimming with second life.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal realized that Roger didn’t return her hug with both arms, but with only one. He was holding something in the other. She pulled back from his embrace. “What do you have there, Roger?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Amusement twinkled in his eyes. “Not what. Who.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The swaddled blankets in his arm stirred, and Opal gasped. “A baby!” She reached out with a trembling hand. “Could...could this be...”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, dear, she’s ours.” He rested a hand on the small of her back. “You were carrying a baby girl.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh.” Opal felt on the verge of tears as Roger handed over their second child to her. “Oh, Roger, Jasper, she’s lovely. Absolutely gorgeous. I can’t believe it. A daughter...”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The baby responded to her mother’s breathless disbelief and adoration with a toothless smile. She broke out laughing when Jasper, being the silly big brother, made funny faces at her. Opal found herself laughing along while crying at once.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“This feels like a dream, a dream come true to be a family together again.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Roger kissed her cheek. “It’s not a dream, dear. This is real.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“What’s our daughter’s name? I imagine she has to have a name by now.” Opal felt some of her old humor return as she glanced over at Roger. “Heaven forbid if she’s been nameless for this long.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He laughed. “She has a name, all right, although I admit I felt bad for naming her without you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Don’t be, darling. You didn’t know when I’d be joining you, and I was the one who named Jasper. Remember how we agreed on taking turns to name our children?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, I remember.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“So what’s our baby girl’s name?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Pearl. But do feel free to voice any suggestions or objections—“</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“No, I think Pearl is perfect.” Opal leaned back into Roger’s embrace while keeping their daughter cradled in her arms.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He murmured into her ear, “Thank you for sending up my unfinished scripts, by the way. Much appreciated.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She smiled up at him. “Of course. I figured you’d be itching to work on them again.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“And you’ll help me finish them, as you’ve always done. We’ll be ghostwriters. How about that?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal rolled her eyes. “Ha ha.” Her smirk widened when Pearl gurgled as if laughing along, and she bounced her daughter in her arms. “Your daddy just had to slip in a dad joke, huh?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“There’s so much we can do, not just finish writing the plays together,” Roger said. “We can visit the other departed in their resting places. If you want, Opal, we could go all the way to Kalos to see Randall, or...”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her husband trailed off, but Opal knew where he was getting at. “I’d love to do that, dear. Yes, I’d like to see Kestrel too, where the Wynwall correctional facility used to be.” She looked back at the path she and Jasper had taken to reach the cemetery. “But first, before we travel far and wide for that, there’s someone we should visit right here.”</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Diantha called for the paramedics to collect Opal. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede stayed out of the way and couldn’t bring himself to watch her being taken away from the house. Though it was morning, he curled up back in his bed like a Shuckle hiding in its shell, wanting nothing more than to sleep. He’d been given plenty of instruction from Opal and Diantha on how to make funeral arrangements, all the legalese on claiming ownership of a deceased person’s Pokemon, getting registered as an official member of the Pokemon League, and so on. He was prepared, but he wasn’t ready. Right now he just wanted to sleep.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>After much tossing and turning, Bede slipped beyond consciousness. He was still in bed, and even in his dreams he didn’t want to climb out of it. Someone from behind gently shook his shoulder. He turned in his bed, expecting to see Diantha, but who he saw instead made his heart almost stop.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Ms. Opal?” he breathed.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Long time no see, my boy.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The Opal who stood before him was young, glowing, and beautiful, her short hair dark as the night sky and her eyes twinkling like bright blue stars. Bede sat up in bed and rubbed at his eyes, astonished beyond words. She didn’t come to him alone. Beside her were the man and boy Bede recognized from his journey through time.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The boy, Opal’s five year-old son, threw himself on the bed and at Bede to hug him. “Thank you for taking care of my mummy.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede patted the top of Jasper’s dark messy hair. “O-of course. More like she’s been taking care of me.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You took care of each other,” Roger said warmly. He was holding a baby in his arms.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede looked between the reunited couple. “Is that...is that who I think it is?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal smiled and nodded. “Bede, meet our daughter, Pearl.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Like Jasper, Pearl took after her mother with the vivid blue eyes and dark, curly hair. Bede raised his hand to wave at the cooing baby, then he raised both frantically as Roger leaned in to hand her over. “Oh no, I-I don’t know how to hold a baby—“</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It’s okay, it’s not that hard,” Jasper said.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede found himself getting an armful of Pearl despite his flustered protests. The baby girl wiggled in his arms, as if to settle in, not out of fussiness. He smiled down at her. “Hi, there. Crazy to think that I’ve been under your mum’s care for longer than you have. But you’ve got her, now. You’re so lucky to have such a great mum.” He tapped at her button nose with a light, playful finger. “Yes, you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She giggled at his touch, and Opal extended her arms to relieve Bede of the baby.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I thought we might visit you as soon as we could,” she told him. “Roger and Jasper wanted to say thanks, we wanted you to see Pearl, and you were crying so hard when I had left.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Bede’s cheeks grew warm and he looked down at his hands. “I-I’m going to miss you so much, Ms. Opal.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“She won’t be far,” Roger assured him. “You can always come talk to her at the cemetery. You might not know it, but she’ll hear you.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“We’ll be flitting out and about sometimes, but look hard enough and you’ll find us by your side,” Opal said.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Knowing that she was never really gone gave Bede joy and peace he had never known before in his life. For much of his life he was used to being alone. Now he would have to get used to being surrounded by loved ones. Not that he was complaining.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal handed Pearl over to her husband. “Well, dear, let’s get going to visit Kes over at Wyndon. You’ve got to see how much it has changed over the years! And this time we don’t need a car or Flying Taxi to get there.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>With one arm Roger held his daughter, and with the other he took her hand. “First family trip in decades. Looking forward to it.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jasper bounced in place as his mother held his hand. “We’re going to see Uncle Kes! We’re going to see Uncle Kes!”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It seemed that the whole family had forgiven Kestrel, and knowing that made Bede happy for the poor man, wherever he was now.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Opal looked back to him. “This is good-bye, Bede my boy, but not forever. We’ll be back.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He nodded. “Enjoy your next life,” he said softly.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The family turned to leave, and Bede ran outside of Opal’s house to find her, hand-in-hand with her spouse and son, flitting among the giant mushrooms of Ballonlea Town, weightless and soaring despite having no wings, and filling the air with tinkering laughter. Bede smiled through his tears, his heart overcoming how crushed it had been from losing Opal, so it can soar with them. He thought that they would leave without looking back, but then Opal briefly let go of Jasper’s hand to wave at Bede. He waved back at her and, like fairy dust, they shimmered out of sight.</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>Gone were the days that Bede had to wear Opal’s oversized Gym jerseys. Now he had his own that fit him. It felt strange no longer having to tie the extra length behind his back. He used to hate looking at himself in the mirror, finding the bright pink and blue ridiculous on him. But now, on the first day back to the Gym since Opal was laid to rest, Bede saw glowing, shameless pride in his reflection.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He emerged from the changing room, bypassing the clamor of the lobby to head backstage. Voices from Diantha, the stage crew, and actors drifted into his ears. Pen and clipboard in hand, the Kalos Champion-turned-theatre manager asked for another lighting test when Bede walked in.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She waved at him. “Leader Bede, you’re ready for your match with the newest challenger?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied. “And how’s preparation for the play coming along?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“So far so good. Everyone’s excited to have an audience fill the theatre again.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Count me in that crowd.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Both the Gym and theatre had to close during the days following Opal’s death. The backdrop behind him and Diantha switched colors as the lighting was being tested. Bede noticed that Diantha, with her stylish white blouse, pale blue eyes, and short brown hair darkened by distorted lighting, didn’t look too different from Opal in her younger days. His chest twinged at the nostalgia.</p>
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  <p>“You’re coming to the premiere later tonight, <em>mon cheri</em>?”</p>
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  <p>Diantha’s Kalosian accent brought Bede back to the present day, and he shot a broad grin at the young woman he came to know and love as a big sister. “You bet I am.”</p>
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  <p>“Glad to hear it.” She gave him a good-hearted pat on the back. “Now go break a leg out there, Gym Leader!”</p>
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  <p>Bede left backstage to make his way to the other side of the Gym. He never got a direct answer out of Opal on what pink meant to her. Not that she would just hand him the answer so easily, anyway. He spent his walk mulling it over. The last time she had seen the most pink in anyone before him was in her son, Jasper. He had seen what that boy was like before his life was cut short, and what he was like if his life had been allowed to run its course. That bright, bouncing little boy had charmed everyone around him, much like a Fairy type Pokemon, and had charmed his mother most of all. Bede then considered himself: not exactly steeped in charm, but brimming with promise and potential that Opal was able to spot before he could. Yes, that must be what pink had meant to her. Promise and potential to inherit her legacy. Jasper couldn’t live long enough to fulfill it, but Bede would take his place.</p>
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  <p>“Keep thinking about the right answer,” Opal liked to say, “and eventually you’ll create the right answer.”</p>
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  <p>That cryptic favorite saying of hers would make people throw up their hands in frustration, because no one could make heads or tails of her impish ways. But Bede knew what she had meant, and remembering that saying stirred in him such warm fondness for her that he stopped at the entrance to the stadium to wipe at his eyes before being noticed by the audience or the Rotom camera.</p>
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  <p>He squared his shoulders and drew in a deep breath before striding into the spotlight. Cheers flooded the stadium. Bede soaked it in and let it wash away any performance anxiety that might’ve built up from his walk. He approached the Gym challenger, a girl he guessed to be thirteen or fourteen, in the middle of the arena. She was decked out in dark, studded clothes. A local from Spikemuth, maybe?</p>
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  <p>She opened her mouth, and the rough way of talking confirmed his guess. “All this sugary cotton candy Fairy type aesthetic is makin’ me sick, y’know. I’ll kick your soft, pink, sissy team to the curb!”</p>
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  <p>A saucy Fairy type-bashing lass, Opal would call her. Probably smug from the string of Gym victories up to this point, too. Bede kept his cool and only gave the challenger a jaunty Opal-esque smile. “Don’t be so quick to dismiss Fairy type Pokemon.”</p>
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  <p>After that brief obligatory exchange at the center of the arena, Bede turned away to reach his side of the stadium. The Gym holding its first match since Opal’s funeral resulted in a massive turnout. Shots from the Rotom camera projected on the big screens revealed familiar faces among the audience: Professor Magnolia, Sonia, Victor, Gloria, Hop, the current Champion Leon and the former one, Mustard. And of course, Bede’s fellow Gym Leaders. They all showed up to give him their support for his first steps taken without Opal’s guidance. His heart swelled in appreciation for all of them.</p>
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  <p>Bede glanced up at the audience on his way, and nearly stopped in disbelief. Standing by the rails, seemingly invisible to the crowd sitting behind them, was Opal and her family. She carried her baby daughter while Roger had Jasper propped on his shoulders.</p>
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  <p>“Put on a good show, my boy,” Opal called down to him.</p>
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  <p>Somehow, despite the roar of the audience, Opal and her family cheered for Bede the loudest. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes and he blinked hard. The tears went away, and with them, Opal’s family. His wide, confused gaze lingered where they had vanished, but they didn’t reappear. Was it just his imagination? Bede shook his head. He turned to face the challenger and close his fingers around the first Poke ball in his belt. No, they were there, even if he couldn’t see and hear them all the time. Opal promised that she would never be too far.</p>
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  <p>That sent a surge of comfort and confidence through him. The new Gym Leader of Ballonlea Town, Opal’s successor, extended the ball of his first Pokemon with a flourish at his challenger. “I’ll show you how marvelous Fairy type Pokemon can be!”</p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Musical inspiration for this chapter/epilogue: “The Place Where Wishes Come True” from Clannad.</p><p>That’s it for La Vie en Rose! I really enjoyed writing about Opal and Bede. There’s just something really sweet and poignant about the old and young forging a strong friendship. I wrote this story shortly after my dad died in January 2020. I invested a lot more emotional energy into this than I thought I would. I’m grateful that I did. This is the 1st multi-chapter fic I’ve completed in a very long time (I’m talking years), so I came away feeling victorious. Thank you for following this story to the end.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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